Tua Tagovailoa is the new quarterback in Miami despite the team playing solid, .500 football so far this season, and it appears they did not level with Ryan Fitzpatrick prior to his benching.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, Fitzpatrick described the frustration of being “basically fired” even though he was “fully committed and invested” in the success of the Dolphins this season.
Fitz: "There's a lot of stuff going through my mind yesterday…Is this it?"
"I've been a starter, I've been benched all kinds of different ways … but this was kind of the first place other than Buffalo that I've been fully committed and invested. I felt it was my team."
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) October 21, 2020
Ryan Fitzpatrick: "I basically got fired yesterday and my day today consisted of zoom meetings with the guy who fired me and sitting in a room with the guy who replaced me for four hours."
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) October 21, 2020
Through six games in 2020, Fitzpatrick has completed 70 percent of his passes with the third-highest net yards per attempt of his career and a sterling 82.5 QBR. While Fitzpatrick has also thrown seven interceptions, his mistakes haven’t been too costly for Miami, as the team’s passing offense is the 13th-most efficient in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders.
Amid a career year, it’s no surprise that Fitzpatrick would be disappointed to lose the starting job.
“We’ve talked about how I’m the placeholder and this eventually was going to happen, it was just a matter of when and not if,” Fitzpatrick told reporters. “It still just broke my heart.”
#Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick after finding out he was benched: "I felt like it was my team and that's why my heart was so heavy yesterday. My heart just hurt all day. It was heartbreaking for me."
Added: "I want Tua to play well."https://t.co/i4v0tyWOuI
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 21, 2020
When a rebuilding team like the Dolphins drafts a player like Tagovailoa whose upside is so considerable, the clock starts on when that quarterback will eventually take the reins of the offense. The change came quickly here, and while Fitzpatrick has given no impression that he will handle the change poorly, it’s clear that at least from Fitzpatrick’s perspective, Miami pulling the trigger now with Tagovailoa came as a shock.
