Dolphins Decide to Switch Quarterbacks, Fitzpatrick In – Rosen Out

The Miami Dolphins have decided to go back to Ryan Fitzpatrick at the starting quarterback, and bench Josh Rosen for the upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills. The latest statement of Miami’s head coach Brian Flores issued earlier today, confirmed what many already expected.

It appears that switching quarterbacks became popular these days. After Tennessee Titans announced that Ryan Tannehill is going to replace Marcus Mariota, the Dolphins decided to make some changes in their starting lineup.

“Kind of came to that conclusion over the last couple of days. We felt like that was the best thing for this team,” Flores said Wednesday. “[Fitzpatrick provides] the best opportunity for this team to go into a tough environment and try to pull out a win.”

Dolphins Live: Coach Flores meets with the media. https://t.co/GWPTMDPQUi

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) October 16, 2019

Fitzmagic is a veteran who is used to be a guy who will jump in from time to time to fill in the holes. Although this is his role over the recent few years, he had some superb periods in which he posted magnificent performance. Like for example in Tampa Bay last season, when he posted 2,366 yards in 8 games played throwing 17 touchdowns. Everybody remembers how he opened the season when Fitz recorded three consecutive contests with 400+ yards.

We’ve also seen his abilities in last week’s match against the Redskins when he almost turned the game upside down. Miami lost that one, 17-16, but only because of a failed two-point conversion, as Flores decided to trust the 36-year old and go for all or nothing.

This move of the Dolphins, however, doesn’t mean that Rosen is going to be permanently moved to the bench. The team still has a lot of confidence in the sophomore, who was the 10th pick in the last year’s NFL draft. Before this season, the Arizona Cardinals who originally selected him decided to clear the space for the No.1 pick, Kyler Murray. So he ended up in Florida.

“We have a lot of confidence in Josh,” Flores said. “For him, it’s got to be a day-to-day improvement, getting better and continuing his development. That’s the conversation I had with him. He’s still a young, talented player.”

Still, some of the experts and the analysts are suggesting that the Dolphins don’t count on Rosen to be the long-term solution. According to their version of the story, Miami will aim to take the No.1 place in this year’s draft, which would give them a chance to select either Tua Tagovailoa or Jalen Hurts. It would mean that history repeated once again for Rosen.

His stats this year have been pretty bad. Since the season started, he appeared five times on the field, three as a starter. Rosen completed just 58 of his 109 passes, tossing one touchdown pass and five interceptions. His overall quarterback rating was 18.8. Against the Redskins he recorded a QBR of 2.1.

It is why Flores wanted to remove him from the position of a starter. Some might say that he did that to keep his head and to protect him from the pressure of the media and the fans, while another claim that he doesn’t count on him that much.

Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick stated that he feels ready to take on the Bills where he played from 2009 until 2012. On the other side, the boys from Buffalo are prepared for him too, and their head coach Sean McDermott already indicated that at the press conference.

“[We’re] getting ready for Ryan Fitzpatrick and what he brings to the table — good quarterback, experienced, brings good energy, can make every throw, gets the ball out,” McDermott said

The game is scheduled for Sunday, in Buffalo.