Ryan Fitzpatrick Already Wants to Ruin Tua Tagovailoa's Rookie Season With the Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins attempted to tank in 2019 in order to draft a top quarterback. The ageless Ryan Fitzpatrick showed up and led the team to five wins, but the master plan still worked; the team drafted Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick.

Tagovailoa is obviously the quarterback of the future, but he is still recovering from a hip injury and therefore has no unequivocal claim on the starting job, even if he is healthy. He will be forced to compete with the journeyman Fitzpatrick, who has made it clear he still wants to be the starter.

Fitzpatrick winning the job over a healthy Tagovailoa would be bad for the Dolphins. The veteran is not going to lead the team to any kind of greatness, and getting significant playing time would only delay Tua's development. The best role for FitzMagic is on the sidelines as a backup and a mentor. He has not shown anything throughout his career that would lead anyone to believe he is the answer in Miami, especially at age 37.

Fitzpatrick has provided NFL fans with some fun moments throughout his career, but he is not the future. With Tom Brady now playing in Florida himself, the Dolphins need Tagovailoa to realize himself as a marketable star. The alternative? Rolling with Fitzpatrick and his career record of 55-83-1 and thus wasting an important year of development.