Fitzpatrick: "I thought it was a joke at first. 'We’re putting Tua in?' I was floored.”
Allen Eyestone via Imagn Content Services,
Washington Football Team quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said he was "floored" last season when he was replaced by Tua Tagovailoa as Miami's starting QB.
Fitzpatrick, 38, logged 20 starts for the Dolphins from 2019-20, and led the team to a 4–3 record as a starter to begin last season. But during Miami's bye week in late October, Fitzpatrick was alerted by head coach Brian Flores that Tagovailoa would step in as the team's signal caller.
“I have a ton of respect for [Flores], and we have a very good relationship,” Fitzpatrick told The Athletic's Robert Mays. “But I thought it was a joke at first. 'We’re putting Tua in?' I was floored.”
“That was my team. ... I fought through the shit with those guys. I get the way that the NFL works. I get it. But to have it happen the way it did."
Tagovailoa turned in a solid rookie campaign, posting a 6–3 record along with 11 touchdowns in nine starts. As for Fitzpatrick, he made three relief appearances after the October benching, including a 182-yard effort to spark a comeback win against the Raiders in late December.
Fitzpatrick isn't going away anytime soon despite his 2020 benching. The 16-year veteran is slated to start for Washington in Week 1 in September, marking his ninth team in one of the most impressive journeyman careers in league history. As the Harvard product enters Year 17, perhaps he still has some Fitzmagic left in the tank.
More NFL Coverage:
• The Year the NFL Banned Two of its Biggest Stars for Gambling
• FROST Score: The Training Camp Stories That Matter, and Those That Don’t
• MMQB: The 49ers’ QB Competition According to Shanahan, Garoppolo and Lance