Poor Josh Rosen: Brian Flores now says Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain starter
Josh Rosen is a curious case.
The start to his career is unique and might never be duplicated. Last season as a rookie top-10 pick he was with the hapless Arizona Cardinals, the worst team in the NFL, and struggled badly in a horrendous situation. Then he was traded to the Miami Dolphins, who might be the worst team of all time.
Is Rosen bad? Or has he just been the victim of being on miserable teams two years in a row? It might be a while before we find out the truth.
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Rosen won’t get another shot in the foreseeable future. At least that’s what Dolphins coach Brian Flores says today. Flores told the media that Ryan Fitzpatrick will remain the team’s starting quarterback. The Dolphins are 0-7 and it’s not too early to worry about an infamous 0-16. Fitzpatrick gives the Dolphins the best chance to win, Flores said.
So even though Rosen might help the Dolphins in the future, Fitzpatrick will remain quarterback. And it seems like Miami has decided Rosen isn’t really part of their future.
Josh Rosen will continue to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick
If the Dolphins had any hope for Rosen developing into a franchise quarterback, he would be their starter right now. The fact that he can’t keep the starting job for a team that is tanking tells you all you need to know.
Flores wanted Rosen to keep the job. He said early this month that the starting quarterback job was “settled” and Rosen would be the team’s starter. Then after a bad half against the Washington Redskins later that week, Flores changed his mind, put in Fitzpatrick and has stuck with him.
Flores didn’t look great in making a decision on Rosen and changing his mind after two bad quarters. But it probably reflects much more poorly on Rosen, who couldn’t hold a job the Dolphins wanted him to have.
Rosen hasn’t played well
Rosen hasn’t done a lot to earn more playing time. He has been on two bad teams but hasn’t made either of them better. He has a brutal 52 passer rating and has been outplayed by the 36-year-old journeyman Fitzpatrick. Since avoiding 0-16 is preferred, it makes sense why the Dolphins won’t start Rosen until they get that one win, at least.
But it seems hard to believe that Rosen is thought of as a future starting quarterback in Miami beyond this season. The Dolphins are stocked with picks in next year’s draft, will likely draft first overall, and there are quality quarterback prospects in the 2020 class. It was worth it to trade a late second-round pick for Rosen, but it hasn’t paid off. Maybe that will change if Rosen gets a chance later this season and plays well, but it seems more likely he’ll either be backing up someone like Tua Tagovailoa next season or on his third team.
Hopefully for Rosen, he eventually gets a chance with someone better than the 2018 Cardinals or 2019 Dolphins.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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