Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores isn’t prepared to name his starting quarterback for the team’s season opener.
Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick started Thursday’s 22-7 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars and played into the second half before fellow offseason acquisition Josh Rosen flourished during his time under center.
“This could go either way. … I think they’re both working hard, both have leadership, both have done a lot of good things,” Flores said on Sunday. “This will be a hard decision for the staff.”
Flores said that he might not publicly name the Dolphins’ starting quarterback ahead of their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 8.
Fitzpatrick struggled early against the Jaguars as the Dolphins punted on all four possessions in the first quarter. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown before ceding to Rosen, who went 5-of-7 for 59 yards and added four carries for 23 yards on the ground.
Rosen holds the edge in statistics accumulated during the preseason, as his completion percentage (62.2), yards per attempt (7.8) and touchdown drives (three) eclipse the totals of Fitzpatrick (53.1, 5.2, one).
Flores left the door open that all three quarterbacks on Miami’s roster — Rosen, Fitzpatrick and Jake Rudock — could play in Thursday’s preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints.
The Dolphins signed the 36-year-old Fitzpatrick in the offseason and also traded for the 22-year-old Rosen, who was a first-round draft pick by Arizona in 2018. Rosen became expendable when the Cardinals took quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
–Field Level Media
