Ryan Fitzpatrick is “really excited” to have Tua Tagovailoa in the Dolphins‘ locker room, as Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. He gushed about the Alabama product in a chat with former Bills teammate Eric Woods, though he’s not quite ready to pass the torch as the team’s starting quarterback.
“I also want to be out there playing,” Fitzpatrick said. “I also want to be on the field. And that’s why I’m still doing it, because I still enjoy playing the game. Hopefully some of the lessons I’m able to teach him are from him watching me play. But if it’s the other way around, I’m going to do my best to help him succeed in the best way he can.”
Ultimately, the Dolphins will do what’s best for business, but Fitzpatrick may have a leg up on the rookie, thanks to his relationship with new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey.
“Chan and I have worked together for three years … He’s the guy who has given me the longest leash in my career in terms of being able to do things,” Fitzpatrick said. “And I trust him completely, and he has ultimate trust in me as well. This will be a little bit different in that if I’m out there playing there’s going to be a little bit longer leash because of the history we have together.”
Here’s more from the AFC East:
- ACL rehab is going well for Dolphins wide receiver Preston Williams and he’s on track to be ready for Week 1, according to a team source who spoke with Adam H. Beasley and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. For now, the Dolphins plan to have Williams and DeVante Parker as their top outside receivers. On the inside, they’ll likely turn to slot specialist Albert Wilson, who renegotiated his contract in May to ensure his spot on the team. Wilson is on the books for just $3MM in base salary this year. Initially, he was set to earn ~$9.5MM in 2020.
- It would be a shock if first-round tackle Mekhi Becton doesn’t start for the Jets right away, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. Becton, selected with the No. 11 overall pick, already has the build of a veteran – he stands at 6’7″ and tips the scales at around 365 pounds. As Cimini notes, the Jets have not started a rookie offensive lineman since 2006, when they trotted out center Nick Mangold and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson.
- For months, the Jets have been expected to release Brian Winters in a cost-saving move. Instead, he’s currently set to compete with Greg Van Roten for the starting right guard job, as Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. If the Jets dropped the veteran, they’d save $7.2MM with no dead money left over.
- The Patriots agreed to a brand new deal with Patrick Chung on Wednesday, keeping him under contract through the 2023 season.
- Defensive lineman Ed Oliver could be in lots of trouble following his arrest, but the Bills are still allowing him to participate in their virtual offseason program.
If Fitz betas out Tua (pending health) beating out Rosen last year, will that say more about his ability or how poorly the fins scouting staff is?
I think it will say two things, number one either Tua isn’t completely healthy, or he just hasn’t had enough time to get a good grasp of the offense.
The Fins HAVE TO do whatever they can to set up Tua for the highest possible percentage of success. If that means waiting until week 5 or week 6, then so be it. In fact, I fully expect Fitzpatrick to start the season as the Dolphins starter.
The guy I feel bad for is Josh Rosen. Man, he has gotten a gigantic taste of reality since coming into the league. He was once touted as the next Andrew Luck coming out of college, and now he continuously keeps getting passed over for super prospects. First, it was Kyler Murray and now Tua..
He had a shot to somewhat make his mark last year, but Fitz is probably the one veteran fringe starting QB you don’t want to be competing with..He provides coaches with comfort, considering the fact his football IQ and overall intelligence allows him to pick up a complete understanding of several different offenses..Fitz is also loved by his teammates, and he is an extremely underrated leader..
Anyways, since he wasn’t able to take over for Fitz, Rosen will now forever be a backup QB, unless he somehow is able to pull a Matt Flynn and shine in a spot start or limited action..Typically, someone would have given him an opportunity by now, based off his pedigree alone, but for the first time in my 32 years of existence, there are more talented QBs than there are opportunities available..
Bravesfan88, that was spot on in my opinion. Seriously, pretty much what I thought. I will say that I don’t think Rosen has been given the best chance to develop, however. The Cardinals essentially broke him and his confidence with that move, and Fitzpatrick is a starting level quarterback (most of the time).
I did not quite think that Rosen was a top five pick when he came out, but the massive changes and borderline betrayal by what was supposedly his franchise team certainly didn’t help. He could possibly improve on a needy team in the next two years after the Dolphins cut him loose, and it isn’t impossible that he gets another starting job in the case of injury on a team with a less settled QB situation. Whether he’ll be great or not is a whole ‘nother matter, but some time to learn a playbook without any pressure as a starter in a clean slate situation could give him the chance to at least show what he is capable of or is not capable of more completely.
Poor scouting staff? They signed fitz for 8 million, 1/3 the cost of a solid starting qb. I would say that is amazing pro scouting right there. Rosen was a low risk high reward flyer. Anyone who expected Rosen to be anything more wasn’t paying attention. They didn’t give up much for a player one year removed from being a top 10 pick. Best case scenario, you have your qb of the future, worst case you have your 2nd string qb on an extremely team friendly deal. Turned out to be the latter. If it weren’t for injury, Tua is in the convo for #1. Tua was widely touted as a top pick for years. If he doesn’t work out, the entire league was wrong. I don’t think that would reflect poorly on the Dolphins scouting staff
Spot on
I hope you guys are right & Tua is the answer. I’m tired of the same teams losing. I think Fitz is a great teammate and will help out all the QB’s. But Tua has to show this year. That’s the mandate of being a top 10 pick in the NFL these days.
I will disagree. This is a marathon and not a sprint. I wouldn’t care if Tua sat all year. Put him in when he is ready, when the oline is ready to protect him. You have potentially 5 new starting o-linemen who won’t have a lot of time to gel. Tua will not be afforded a normal offseason. Worst thing you can do for a young qb is put him out there when he isn’t ready or behind a shoddy line. Unfortunately, most teams aren’t afforded the luxury to wait with high picks. I think Miami is different. The coach and gm have security.
True
The Jets should cut Winter’s immediately. Van Roten is the superior player and they would save so much money. Then they could sign one of Ryan, Griffen, or Clowney
Don’t know what the hold up in cutting winters is
It seems like a pretty obvious move right?
They’ve got 11 days left to make their decision to avoid dead money. I think they would still have the money to sign one of those three once Trumaine Johnson’s release becomes official on June 1, but they may actually believe in Winters. When he’s completely healthy, he can be a force in the trenches, but the problem is that he’s often played hurt.
They could also cut and resign him to a more reasonable deal
Winters is certainly the superior player to Van Roten, who is a backup level interior lineman who has proven that on many occasions. Van Roten certainly is not bad in that role and has started, but his career is that of a journeyman player for a reason. Winters’ issue, as you said, is his health. Unfortunately his availability makes his deal rather expensive for the Jets, which is why Van Roten is there.
The Jets know however Winters’ capabilities versus Van Royen’s and that a healthy Winters has been their best O-lineman recently and offers them the best chance to put their best line on the field, one that is not returning a bunch of starters for Darnold to work with. Unfortunately they also know that Winters’ cap hit is severe, so my guess is that even if he wins the job (which is extremely likely), he’ll be asked to take a pay cut one more time before being cut.
I was thinking of buying one of those Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs and naming it D’Brickashaw.
I think Fitzmagic will start at QB just given Tuas previous health concerns. He can start and play with receivers he knows and a playbook he knows and the team might be able to win a couple early games.
This extra 4 weeks or so gives Tua more chance to rehash if he needs it, it gives him more time to get familiar with the coaching staff and the offensive players.
No doubt I know Tua is better but in terms of who’s more likely to win the first 4 games it’s probably the veteran and that probably suits Tua.
Less pressure to begin with, more time to get familiar with every and then boom he’s ready to go
Albert Wilson took quite the trim to stay with Miami. He’s been very good under the radar since going there and has been very versatile as well. That was a pretty generous move to cut out a significant portion of his cap hit.