Dolphins name Ryan Fitzpatrick starting quarterback

The Miami Dolphins have named quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick their starter for Week 1, according to multiple media reports Monday morning. The move comes as no surprise, with the 2019 top passer returning to the role for 2020 in Miami. Rookie first-round draft pick Tua Tagovailoa will serve as the primary backup.

The Dolphins waived third-year quarterback Josh Rosen on Saturday and signed free agent Jake Rudock to their practice squad on Sunday. Rosen joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.

Fitzpatrick, a 2005 seventh-round pick by the St. Louis Rams, joined the Dolphins last season, his eighth team in his 15-year career. He threw for 3,529 yards with 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 15 appearances, starting 13 times. For his career, he has 32,886 passing yards with 210 touchdowns and 161 interceptions.

Tagovailoa is ten months removed from a dislocated and fractured hip sustained during his final season at Alabama. A three-year starter in college, Tagovailoa finished his career with 7,442 yards with 87 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He had 2,840 yards with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games last season.

Fitzpatrick was always expected to be the starter, though the Dolphins considered the position open to competition this summer between all three quarterbacks. His experience and his familiarity with new Miami offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, for whom Fitzpatrick has played previously, as well as health concerns about Tagovailoa, seemed to ensure he would retain the starting position early in the season. The Dolphins could look to move Tagovailoa into the starting lineup later in the season.