Ryan Fitzpatrick agreed to sign with the Washington Football Team in his 17th season as an NFL quarterback. And the Dolphins drafted QB Tua Tagovailoa to be their QB of the future. Fitzpatrick spoke about how he helped Tua Tagovailoa progress in year 1.
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Miami Dolphins decided to draft Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa with the 5th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. Fitzpatrick started the season as a starter, but HC Brian Flores decided to bring in Tua after the Bye Week despite Fitzpatrick’s success. And that could have been because of how Fitzpatrick helped in Tua’s development
Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t take any practice reps to give Tua Tagovailoa a chance.
In the ESPN Daily Podcast with Pablo Torre, Fitzpatrick said he basically didn’t take any reps in practice against a defense for weeks at a time to give Tagovailoa and fellow rookie backup Reid Sinnettthe chance to get all the reps possible to help them improve.
“I stayed mentally sharp and ready and was still running, but I did not really throw football during practice, especially during like a practice setting against the defense,” Fitzpatrick said.
“I was fully in to helping Tua. And at the same time, I wanted this young guy, who otherwise would get zero reps throughout the year {as a third-string quarterback], to have an opportunity because I was in his shoes once. I sat there as a third- and fourth-string guy and just watched and watched and watched and never had any opportunity to get better. And I saw it as a way to help Reid [Sinnett]. I saw it as a way for me to give extra help to Tua. And I also saw it as a way to prove to myself that I could come out of the stands five years from now and still play this game.”
Fitzpatrick didn’t wait 5 years, but he had to come and bail his rookie teammate out on more than one occasion.
The Dolphins went 10-6 in 2020, but that success was despite Tua Tagovailoa rather than because of him. Tagovailoa went 6-3 as the Dolphins starter in 2020 but was pulled mid-game twice for veteran backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. The 38-year-old led Miami to a victory in one of those contests and nearly picked up two wins.
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