Usually, in situations where the season is over for a team, they would play their younger players for them to gain experience. However, for head coach Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins, he's sticking with 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback over 22-year-old Josh Rosen.
Fitzpatrick has started 11 regular-season games to Rosen's three. And although the former first-round pick is inclined to get some more playing time before the season comes to a close, Flores provided his reason for going with the veteran journeyman.
“I think it’s easy for people to sit and say you should do this or that,” Flores said per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. “I don’t think those same people would stand in front of that group and say, ‘Hey, this is in the best interest of the team, for us to win this week.’ And that’s no knock on Josh. Maybe you think that’s in the best interest. But you’re not in front of this team every day. You’re not in the trenches. And a lot of people aren’t.
And when looking at the statistics of how both guys have played, it's easy to see where he's coming from. Ryan Fitzpatrick has all three of the team's wins as well as a 15-to-12 touchdown-to-interceptions ratio, not to mention being the team's leading rusher. Rosen, on the other hand, is 0-3 with one touchdown to five interceptions.
There isn't too much trust or confidence with Rosen with the season coming to a close to handle things for a bit. But it shouldn't stop the coaches from deciding that he will get some much-needed game time near the end if there is a blowout.
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