The switch to Tua Tagovailoa has triggered an unprecedented level of excitement and interest among those who cover the Miami Dolphins — locally and nationally — and those who root for them.
But how about within the locker room, where deposed incumbent Ryan Fitzpatrick had the Dolphins firmly in the playoff race and is beloved by his teammates?
“Fitz is one of my best friends on the team,” Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki said Monday, as players returned from the team’s bye weekend. “I’ve been very open with how I feel about him as a teammate and a guy. A leader for us. I think the biggest thing with Fitz is he loves football. He loves being out there. And he gave it everything he had from the second he was here.
” … He believed in me when not too many people did. So a thank you to him. And now I’m really excited for this next chapter with Tua. Getting out there. I know everybody is excited. Both in this locker room and outside this locker room. Our fans. Everybody. So it’s a new week. We have a game off of a fresh bye week and we’re ready to get rolling.”
That’s the right and easy answer now. The Dolphins play the Rams Sunday, and Tagovailoa will be the starter, no matter anyone else’s opinion.
But what happens if (when?) Tagovailoa drives the team through inevitable rookie potholes?
The Dolphins woke up Monday as the AFC’s eight seed, and just a game and a half back of the Bills.
As defensive end Shaq Lawson put it Monday, “everybody knew coming in, this division’s up for grabs. It’s open to anybody.”
Winners of three out of four games usually don’t make a quarterback switch. Regression with a rookie is a real possibility.
“Our locker room, it’s tight,” Gesicki added. “We all believe in one another and believe in coach (Brian) Flores and (GM) Chris Grier and (team owner Stephen) Ross and everybody that is upstairs making decisions. I think that we all have confidence in Tua to go out and make plays.
“It’s not going to be like, oh, one series here, one series there and everybody is throwing in the towel. That’s not how it is. We’re all excited and honestly I think there’s a lot of trust, a lot of belief in the players that are being put in position on the field on Sundays. I’m excited for Tua and his opportunity, and I think that he’s going to do everything in his power to be prepared and be put in a position to be successful.”
Here’s more reaction from Dolphins players on their quarterback switch:
— Receiver Preston Williams on what Tagovailoa does best: “Obviously throwing, making plays, everything you want in a quarterback. Y’all seen his tape, that speaks for itself. We’re excited that Tua is getting a start just like everybody else I’m excited to see him in his first game action versus the Rams.”
— How much work have Dolphins starters gotten with Tagovailoa since training camp?
Williams said “I got a couple plays with him every now and then. The plays that he did get with me, he looked real good.”
Added Gesicki: “it’s not like he just got named the starter and now I’m about to catch my first ball from him. This has been dating all the way back to when we first got out there in late July.”
— Before he signed with the Dolphins in the offseason, Lawson spent seasons years with the Bills. And he was there in 2018 when Buffalo began the Josh Allen era just one week into Allen’s rookie season.
“They don’t draft a quarterback in the first round for no reason. The guys are the future of the program. … I’m just telling (Tagovailoa), work hard and continue to work better. We’re going to follow your lead. Embrace every moment of it Been seeing him, he’s been doing that every day. He’s a guy that always has a smile on his face, great kid. He always wants to talk to vets and learn new things. He learned a lot, he likes to learn too.”
— More Lawson on Tagovailoa: “I’ve seen a lot of him in practice, how athletic he is, how incredible of a player he is. You get to see it Sunday this week. It’s going to be incredible. He’s going to lead his team in the right way.”