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Report: Josh Rosen and Tua Tagovailoa Still Competing for No. 2 Quarterback Position

Josh Rosen and Tua Tagovailoa Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

With two weeks remaining before the scheduled start of the 2020 season, a new report indicates that neither Tua Tagovailoa nor Josh Rosen has secured the backup quarterback slot behind Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Barry Jackson, Adam Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald looked at the performances of Tagovailoa and Rosen in Saturday’s scrimmage. In their minds, neither player made enough of an impact to help Dolphins head coach Brian Flores make his final decision.

“What’s clear is that neither Tagovailoa nor Rosen has put a strangehold on the backup quarterback spot. Flores said after the scrimmage that the No. 2 quarterback is undetermined,” Jackson, Beasley and Salguero wrote.

“Tagovailoa has been given every opportunity to beat out Rosen for the No. 2 job, and the rookie seemed to have had the better camp entering Saturday. But Rosen deserves credit for his second-half work Saturday, and the job remains open.”

There had been some hope that Tagovailoa might beat out Fitzpatrick for the starting role, but the combination of recovering from major hip surgery and trying to adapt to the NFL appears to have eliminated that idea.

Tagovailoa is still considered the Dolphins’ quarterback of the future, while the 23-year-old Rosen is looking to finally show why the Arizona Cardinals made him the 10th overall pick in the 2018 draft.

Fitzpatrick didn’t take part in the scrimmage due to the death of his mother. While there’s no indication that he’ll be away for an extended period, the Dolphins are allowing him to take as much time as he needs to grieve.

Should Fitzpatrick be unavailable for the scheduled Sept. 13 opener at New England, Flores will have to make a much more important decision regarding whether to start Tagovailoa or Rosen.