It was former Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson who said: “The most important player on the team is the starting quarterback. The second most important player is the backup quarterback.”
With Tagovailoa on board, I’d say the third most important Dolphins player is the backup to the backup. Look, Brian Flores did not shed any light when or whether Tagovailoa, who continues to recover from his November hip injury, will play this season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is entering his last season on the two year contract he signed last offseason. He is set to make $8. Meanwhile, Josh Rosen is owed $2,070,769 in 2020 and $2,879,694 in 2021, which are both fully guaranteed, making him a relatively cheap option as a starting or backup quarterback by NFL measures.
If Tagovailoa plays, Fitzpatrick will likely be Miami’s first backup in line, followed by Rosen.
If Tagovailoa is essentially redshirted, Fitzpatrick gets the nod over Rosen – unless Rosen can beat Fitzpatrick out in practice.
But what happens after this year? You could give Rosen some playing time this season to stock up some trade value, you could cut him, or you could keep him as a backup for Tua.
The reality? Rosen will most likely stay as the team’s backup QB. He is young and in his first two years, he has shown flashes of greatness in a poor supporting cast.
Dolphins fans should be excited Miami has both depth and competition at the quarterback position.
