On Thursday, August 29th, 2019 the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores, announced that they are going to go with veteran, Ryan Fitzpatrick, as the starting quarterback for week 1 of the 2019-2020 NFL season. The Dolphins acquired Josh Rosen from the Arizona Cardinals over the offseason to eventually be the franchise quarterback for the team in the near future.

The Florida team’s first game of the year is on September 8th, 2019 against the Baltimore Ravens. Fitzpatrick is a 36-year-old veteran quarterback in the NFL often playing as a backup quarterback behind a young QB that is trying to learn how to succeed in the League.

The Dolphin’s head coach, Flores, stated that the quarterback competition throughout their training camp was a very close battle for the starting quarterback position, but Fitzpatrick knows the offense better, is a better leader, and slightly outperformed Rosen throughout offseason football team activities.

More on Rosen:

Josh was selected 10thoverall in the 2018 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to his one year of experience in the National Football League, he was the star quarterback at UCLA during his college days. Although he did not necessarily have a good team with the Arizona Cardinals last year, he played fairly average at best in his first year of. The Cardinals decided to trade him to the Miami Dolphins for a couple of future draft picks as they selected Kyler Murray to be their franchise QB with the number one overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.

Career Statistics:

Year Tm G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate QBR Sk Yds Sk% 4QC GWD
2018 ARI 14 13 3-10-0 217 393 55.2 2278 11 2.8 14 3.6 75 5.8 4.8 10.5 162.7 66.7 26.6 45 320 10.3 1 2
Career 14 13 3-10-0 217 393 55.2 2278 11 2.8 14 3.6 75 5.8 4.8 10.5 162.7 66.7 45 320 10.3 1 2

Fitzpatrick:

Ryan is what is considered to be a journeyman in the League as he has played for 8 different NFL organizations throughout his 14 going on 15-year career as a serviceable quarterback. He played his collegiate ball in the Ivy League at Harvard University, and was selected in seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams with the 250th overall pick.

Career Statistics:

Year Tm G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate QBR Sk Yds Sk% 4QC GWD
2005 STL 4 3 0-3-0 76 135 56.3 777 4 3.0 8 5.9 56 5.8 3.7 10.2 194.3 58.2 9 49 6.3 1 1
2006 STL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 99.4 0 0
2007 CIN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0
2008 CIN 13 12 4-7-1 221 372 59.4 1905 8 2.2 9 2.4 79 5.1 4.5 8.6 146.5 70.0 50.4 38 193 9.3
2009 BUF 10 8 4-4-0 127 227 55.9 1422 9 4.0 10 4.4 98 6.3 5.1 11.2 142.2 69.7 35.3 21 127 8.5 1 2
2010 BUF 13 13 4-9-0 255 441 57.8 3000 23 5.2 15 3.4 65 6.8 6.3 11.8 230.8 81.8 50.7 24 145 5.2 1 1
2011 BUF 16 16 6-10-0 353 569 62.0 3832 24 4.2 23 4.0 60 6.7 5.8 10.9 239.5 79.1 50.5 22 148 3.7 2 2
2012 BUF 16 16 6-10-0 306 505 60.6 3400 24 4.8 16 3.2 68 6.7 6.3 11.1 212.5 83.3 43.8 30 161 5.6 0 1
2013 TEN 11 9 3-6-0 217 350 62.0 2454 14 4.0 12 3.4 77 7.0 6.3 11.3 223.1 82.0 57.2 21 109 5.7 2 2
2014 HOU 12 12 6-6-0 197 312 63.1 2483 17 5.4 8 2.6 76 8.0 7.9 12.6 206.9 95.3 61.1 21 83 6.3
2015 NYJ 16 16 10-6-0 335 562 59.6 3905 31 5.5 15 2.7 69 6.9 6.9 11.7 244.1 88.0 63.5 19 94 3.3 2 3
2016 NYJ 14 11 3-8-0 228 403 56.6 2710 12 3.0 17 4.2 57 6.7 5.4 11.9 193.6 69.6 37.9 19 81 4.5
2017 TAM 6 3 2-1-0 96 163 58.9 1103 7 4.3 3 1.8 41 6.8 6.8 11.5 183.8 86.0 59.7 7 34 4.1 0 1
2018 TAM 8 7 2-5-0 164 246 66.7 2366 17 6.9 12 4.9 75 9.6 8.8 14.4 295.8 100.4 64.4 14 76 5.4
Career 141 126 50-75-1 2575 4285 60.1 29357 190 4.4 148 3.5 98 6.9 6.2 11.4 208.2 81.1 245 1300 5.4 9 13
4 yr BUF 55 53 20-33-0 1041 1742 59.8 11654 80 4.6 64 3.7 98 6.7 6.0 11.2 211.9 79.8 97 581 5.3 4 6
2 yr CIN 14 12 4-7-1 221 372 59.4 1905 8 2.2 9 2.4 79 5.1 4.5 8.6 136.1 70.0 38 193 9.3
2 yr NYJ 30 27 13-14-0 563 965 58.3 6615 43 4.5 32 3.3 69 6.9 6.3 11.7 220.5 80.3 38 175 3.8 2 3
2 yr STL 5 3 0-3-0 76 135 56.3 777 4 3.0 8 5.9 56 5.8 3.7 10.2 155.4 58.2 9 49 6.3 1 1
2 yr TAM 14 10 4-6-0 260 409 63.6 3469 24 5.9 15 3.7 75 8.5 8.0 13.3 247.8 94.7 21 110 4.9 0 1
1 yr HOU 12 12 6-6-0 197 312 63.1 2483 17 5.4 8 2.6 76 8.0 7.9 12.6 206.9 95.3 21 83 6.3
1 yr TEN 11 9 3-6-0 217 350 62.0 2454 14 4.0 12 3.4 77 7.0 6.3 11.3 223.1 82.0 21 109 5.7 2 2

My Reaction:

 I believe the Miami Dolphins are making the correct decision especially if they are trying to win right now. By allowing Fitzpatrick to start at the quarterback position, he can teach by example and hopefully Rosen will pick up the NFL game under his tutelage. If things don’t go well early on for the Dolphins, they can always let him start at QB and keep ‘Fitzmagic’ as a reliable back up to Rosen at that point. I don’t know much about Flores, but it seems like he made the right decision here in this situation. Good luck Miami.

Media Statements:

“After a thorough evaluation of OTAs, training camp, games, practice, we felt this was the best move for the team going into the season,” Miami Dolphin’s head coach Brian Flores explained. “Ryan has done a really good job from a leadership standpoint, from an execution standpoint, and we feel like it’s the best move for the team.”

“I know I have more confidence in myself than anybody in the world,” says Fitzpatrick.“Sometimes that’s a detriment, but a lot of times that works in my favor. I’m always confident in who I am and what I am as a player. This is where I wanted to be and what I worked to get.”

“The battle and competition never stops,” Rosen exclaimed. “I’ll push him every single day for him to get better, and if he doesn’t get better, hopefully I’ll surpass him at some point. I’m rooting for him more than anyone.”

“On this progression, I think the future will be pretty bright [for me]. I’m excited,” says Rosen. “I wouldn’t say it’s a setback, but it’s part of the journey.

 “It’s only [a matter of] time that this team is mine, but until then I’m going to be as supportive of a backup as I can and push him every single day.”

 “He’s improved greatly over the course of training camp,” says Flores regarding Josh Rosen. “Playing quarterback in this league takes some time. He’s in a new offense. I think he’ll get there. When? I don’t know. A lot of that is up to him. He knows that.”

 “I’m excited to get out there and lead this team and do the best I can out there,” Fitzpatrick stated. “It’s a situation I’ve been in for multiple franchises, and I’ll lean on my experience a little bit and try to get the guys out there, everybody on the same page, great communication, and playing with a lot of excitement.”