The Miami Dolphins paid a significant price to acquire Josh Rosen, only to bench the second-year quarterback to begin the 2019 season.
The Miami Dolphins are a bit of a mess right now.
The team is potentially trading franchise left tackle Laremy Tunsil in exchange for one year of Jadeveon Clowney, but that is not confirmed news as of right now. Such a trade could reportedly cause a revolt, whatever that means.
The confirmed messy news surrounding the Dolphins right now has to do with the quarterback position. Specifically, with Josh Rosen.
Rosen was treated terribly by the Arizona Cardinals. The team took him 10th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, only to trade him in 2019 in favor of taking Kyler Murray. Not exactly the best way to build a team with two top 10 picks, but I digress.
Rosen was traded to the Dolphins during the draft for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick. Basically the Cardinals turned a No. 10 overall pick into a second-round pick. A truly mind-boggling display of how not to run a front office.
Anyway, the Dolphins are in the midst of a rebuild. A bad 2019 season could mean the team targets a top quarterback in 2020. If getting the next big thing at quarterback was in the plans, it makes sense to start Ryan Fitzpatrick. But not after trading for Rosen.
Rosen was taken No. 10 overall and is realistically a long-term option for the Dolphins if given the opportunity. Acquiring him and not playing him, only to do poorly and target another young quarterback in 2020 is just repeating the cycle of the Cardinals. Only this time the Dolphins would likely be keeping Rosen.
No matter what a front office wants to do, the coaches and players are always trying to win. So let’s say FitzMagic returns in flashes and the Dolphins go 5-11 or 6-10, all with Rosen on the sideline. The Dolphins then don’t know what they have with Rosen and lose out on a top pick.
The better alternative is to trot Rosen out there for the entire season and see what they have in him. If he stinks it up then the plan can be to go all in on a top quarterback in 2020. If he shows improvement then he could slot in as the starter and the Dolphins won’t be in quarterback limbo.
But playing this game of sitting him behind Fitzpatrick creates a scenario where a few wins by the veteran keeps Rosen on the bench. A few losses puts Rosen in another tough situation from the start, especially if Tunsil is no longer on the team.
Brian Flores is in his first year as a head coach at the NFL level. He is making the safe choice by starting Fitzpatrick. It just ins’t the right choice for the future of this franchise.