Was replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick the right move for the Dolphins?

Dolphins QBs Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa standing together before a Week 5 game vs San Francisco

For a team that’s supposed to be in the second year of a rebuild, the Miami Dolphins sure are doing amazing. They have a winning record, a stifling defense that is the third-best scoring defense in the league, are second place in the AFC East, and would be the sixth-seed in the AFC playoffs if the season ended today. They also have two quarterbacks that are playing well on their roster. But what is the age-old football adage?

“If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.”

And this seems to be the problem for the Dolphins. They have quarterback of the present, journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick who is setting career highs in both completion percentage and QBR, and quarterback of the future, rookie Tua Tagovailoa who was the fifth pick in the 2020 Draft and has yet to throw an interception. The Dolphins decided to replace a flourishing Fitzpatrick after their bye week, and while they are still winning, the team has looked… different, to say the least. They are on track to be a playoff team, but a controversy in the quarterback room can derail any playoff aspirations they have. Was it the right decision to replace the man fans call “Fitzmagic” with the unproven rookie?

Both QBs have a winning starting record (Fitz is 4-3 and Tua is 3-1), but the offense was undoubtedly more explosive with Fitzpatrick at the helm. The offense averages 353 total yards when Fitz is the captain, to only 240 with Tua. Fitzpatrick also averages over 100 more yards passing than the rookie, 256 to 148. On top of all that, Tua was benched for Fitzpatrick in a Week 11 loss to the Broncos. Up to that point, Tua had been sacked SIX times and was only 11 of 20 for 83 yards and a touchdown. When Fitzpatrick entered the game in the fourth quarter, he almost engineered a comeback, but was intercepted in the endzone, ending the game.

Tua sacked by the Broncos' Demarcus Walker, Bradley Chubb, and Malik Reed(Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today Sports)

When asked about his decision to replace Tua, head coach Brian Flores had this to say: “Tua wasn't injured. We just felt like it was the best move at that point of the game -- we had to get in two-minute mode and we felt like [Fitzpatrick] gave us the best chance to win the game and we had an opportunity at the end to tie it.” While that seems to be pretty damning against Tua, Flores later said that he still had “a lot of confidence” in Tua and that there would be “no changes,” at the position.

While the tape clearly shows that Fitzmagic should be the starter for the Dolphins, taking a deeper dive into his career, might point to the reason that he was replaced during the bye week. While Ryan Fitzpatrick has had a 16-year NFL career, there’s a reason he’s played for eight different teams: he self-destructs. Every time he’s given a chance to start, he plays lights out at the beginning, but then comes crashing back down to earth. His implosion is something that’s always predictable. During his four-year tenure as QB for the Buffalo Bills, he threw for 80 touchdowns, but a whopping 64 interceptions, never had a winning season, and completed more than 60 percent of his passes only once. Somehow he was able to parlay that into a contract with the Titans and then the Texans, where the results were more of the same, no winning seasons, 20 interceptions, and completion percentages still in the low 60s. He was able to have his first (and only) winning season with the Jets in 2015 when they went 10-6 and threw for 31 TDs and 15 picks, but the following season nosedived with 17 interceptions, only having 12 TDs, and a 3-8 record as a starter. Fitzpatrick just simply isn’t a reliable quarterback. While he has his times where he plays like top tier QB, he just can’t stay consistent. Flores seems to have accounted for that and decided to fix the problem before it even presented itself, by replacing Fitzpatrick.

Tua throwing his first TD pass vs the Los Angeles Rams (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

But something that complicates matters, is Tua’s thumb injury that held him out of a Week 12 game vs the Jets. In Tua’s absence, Fitz led the Dolphins to a cake walk 20-3 victory in which he threw for 257 yards and two TDs and the offense returned to its normal self, with 345 total yards. If Tua continues to miss games, and the Dolphins continue to play well with Fitzmagic at QB, what will the Dolphins do come playoff time? Do they take out a Fitz that is playing well and insert an inexperienced rookie or do they keep the veteran in?

The fact that this is even a discussion is a problem. The Dolphins should have never started Tua and continued to let Fitz work his magic. Yes, the team has been able to win with Tua as a starter, but the overall success just isn't there. Will Tua end up being a fine NFL quarterback? More than likely. But is he ready right now? No. Now he is out risking injury and not taking the steps the Dolphins originally believed he would when he was named starter. Spending his entire rookie season behind Fitzpatrick would have been more beneficial to him, as Fitz has been around for many years and experienced pretty much any and every possible situation a quarterback could experience. If the Dolphins decide to go back to Tua once he recovers from his injury, at least they know they not only have an incredibly capable backup QB, but also an amazing mentor and teammate behind him.

“I know that I am the placeholder and we’ve already had that conversation. I told him I’m going to do the best I can to lead this team and to win football games when I’m out there and whenever it is that Tua gets his chance, whether it’s early or late or whenever it is, I’m going to be his biggest cheerleader.” -Ryan Fitzpatrick.