Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores hit back against a recent report that rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is on an “audition” this season.
Good for Dolphins HC Brian Flores in shooting down a recent report from ESPN that Tua Tagovailoa is getting a 10-game audition to see if they need to draft another QB next season. “We brought Tua here because he believe in him.” pic.twitter.com/hpgHuOGh2N
— Will Manso (@WillMansoWPLG) November 5, 2020
“There’s a couple of things out there. Let’s call it a source close to Dolphins thinking is saying that, that we’re auditioning Tua,” Flores said. “I’m just going to tell you about my thinking. Look, we brought Tua here because we believe in him, same as all the other draft picks. We believe in developing players and I think you guys have heard me talk about improving the players on a daily basis. That would be the opposite of giving somebody a 10-game audition. So I guess that’s my thinking on that just so everybody is clear.”
Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, made his first career start in the Dolphins’ 28-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8.
Despite being 3-3 through their first six games, the Dolphins benched veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of Tagovailoa during the team’s bye week.
While Miami could be looking to see if Tagovailoa can be the future of the franchise, Flores seems to have already made that decision in his support of the rookie.
Tagovailoa has appeared in two games this season. He has completed 14 of his 24 pass attempts for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Miami certainly hopes that Tagovailoa can bring the franchise back to prominence in the NFL.