Flores says Dolphins not auditioning Tua

Tua Tagovailoa is here to stay after making his first NFL start.

Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores pushed back Thursday on a report that the team named Tua Tagovailoa its starting quarterback to determine whether he’s the QB of the future.

The Dolphins own the Houston Texans’ first-round pick in 2021. With the Texans at 1-6, that pick could translate into a chance to select Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State’s Justin Fields. The Dolphins also have their own first-round selection.

ESPN reported earlier in the week that Miami switched from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Tagovailoa in part to give the rookie a 10-game audition.

It was enough to compel Flores to address it Thursday.

“There’s a couple things out there, let’s call it a source close to Dolphins thinking saying that we are auditioning Tua. I’m just going to tell you about my thinking. We brought Tua here because we believe in him, same as all the other draft picks. We believe in developing players and improving players on a daily basis,” Flores said.

“That would be the opposite of giving someone a 10-game audition,” Flores said. “I just don’t see how somebody close to Dolphins thinking can say that this would be a 10-game audition. Not sure where or who that came from.”

Tagovailoa is set to make his second start Sunday when the Dolphins (4-3) travel to Arizona to play the Cardinals (5-2). Tagovailoa threw for just 93 yards on 12-of-22 passing and a TD in his debut as a starter last week — a 28-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Reuters