Brian Flores Explains Timing Of Tua Tagovailoa’s Promotion To Dolphins’ Starter

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been playing at a pretty high level lately, putting the 3-3 Miami Dolphins in a position to compete for a playoff spot.

So with his quarterback hot, Brian Flores, surprisingly, decided to make a change under center.

Flores confirmed Wednesday morning that rookie Tua Tagovalioa now will be Miami's starting signal-caller, beginning in Week 8 when the Dolphins return from their bye. Rumors about the change had emerged Tuesday, and the initial reaction was curiosity given how well Fitzpatrick had been playing.

It's no secret that Fitzpatrick isn't the long-term plan in Miami, but that didn't make the timing of the move any less perplexing. Flores explained the timing behind the decision.

“We feel like through practices, walkthroughs and meetings, we feel like he’s ready,” Flores said Wednesday, via The Sun-Sentinel.

"We feel like this is the best move for our team right now. Fitz has done a great job. This is productive. His leadership has been great. It's not an easy decision....We feel like now, moving forward this is a decision that we needed to make," Dolphins Brian Flores said on Tua.

— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) October 21, 2020

Tagovailoa played his first NFL snaps in Sunday's walloping of the New York Jets. The Dolphins will host the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 1.