Dolphins fans reveal old scars with reactions to ongoing QB situation

The Tua Tagovailoa era in Miami is off and running, with the team boasting a 3-1 start to the rookie’s career as a starting quarterback. But that string of winning success will need to be put on hold for at least as week as the Dolphins appear poised to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback due to a thumb injury suffered by Tagovailoa in practice this week — an incident that saw Tagovailoa smack his helmet hand on a teammate’s helmet. In a vacuum, it would be an innocent enough occurrence.

But these are the Miami Dolphins.

And, on the heels of the Dolphins pulling Tagovailoa from a 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos in the 4th-quarter with the deficit at 10 points, many Dolphins fans are not processing the transpiring events at quarterback very well. There’s vitriol for Fitzpatrick. There’s frustration with the coaching staff. There’s a lot of negativity about the cards that have been dealt despite the fact that Miami sits at 6-4 on the season. Some fans even have the gall to indicate that there’s no injury at all — and that this is a conspiracy by the coaching staff to collude and bench Tagovailoa in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick in the team’s pursuit of their first winning season since 2016.

Which is, of course, outrageous. To think that Brian Flores would need a pretend injury to make personnel decisions in the first place is laughable, given his decision to pull a healthy Fitzpatrick for a rookie when the team was at 3-3 or for how Miami’s head coach pulled the rug out from underneath Josh Rosen in 2019 after 2.5 games despite being named the starter.

An unfortunate reality check that is apparently needed for Dolphins fans: Brian Flores does not care what you think about how he runs the team or the court of public opinion at all, for that matter.

Tagovailoa did indeed smack his hand off a helmet at Wednesday’s practice. And Miami’s decision to start Fitzpatrick this weekend despite Tagovailoa reportedly wanting to play (of course he does) stems from a couple of variables:

• Tua Tagovailoa is the future of the franchise. Don’t expose him to unnecessary risk for short-term benefit.

• The Dolphins coaching staff has a clear trust in Ryan Fitzpatrick as a competent quarterback and alternative to execute Miami’s offense and still give them a reasonable chance to win.

• The hand/thumb injury to Tagovailoa has impacted him in some capacity. It could be ball handling, velocity or accuracy. Perhaps all of the above and more.

Those distraught over the Dolphins current situation are a vocal minority. But the perspective that escapes them is bewildering to slam the head coach who has done so much good for this organization over his first two years on the job and chastise the veteran quarterback who helped usher in Miami’s positive culture change.

At the end of the day, Ryan Fitzpatrick is 38-years old. He’s not a threat to Tua Tagovailoa’s future as the franchise quarterback in Miami. He’s an ally who can help bridge time between now and when Tagovailoa’s throwing hand is once again healthy and he offers Miami a chance to continue winning in the interim — however long that may be. The only threat Ryan Fitzpatrick poses is to the short-term gratification of Dolphins fans who want to see Tagovailoa play. And if that desire takes precedent over seeing the Dolphins winning as a team, then perhaps a look in the mirror is warranted as a fan.