Dolphins' Flores not ready to see healthy Tua: 'No one is going to pressure me'

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores isn't comfortable pressing rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa into action even though he's checked all the medical boxes.

"When we feel like he's ready to go, we'll put him in," Flores told reporters Monday, via NFL Network's Mike Giardi.

Tagovailoa watched from the sidelines in Week 4 as Miami fell 31-23 to the Seattle Seahawks. Veteran signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a pair of interceptions in the loss to add to his five picks on the season, versus just four touchdowns.

Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft, hasn't taken a game snap since undergoing surgery 11 months ago for a dislocated hip and posterior wall fracture. He last appeared on the injury report with a hip injury in Week 1.

"If it was my kid and he had a serious injury like that, I wouldn't want his coach to be in a rush to put him in there because of media pressure," Flores said, according to ESPN's Cameron Wolfe.

"No one is going to pressure me into doing anything," he added.

Flores has acknowledged the 1-3 Dolphins will reassess their position groups to try and turn their season around, but "would assume" Fitzpatrick will start in Week 5 versus the San Francisco 49ers, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.

Tagovailoa enjoyed a decorated college career - he won a national championship, earned a Heisman Trophy nomination, and shattered several school records.

Flores says he won't consider the early successes of first overall pick Joe Burrow or sixth overall pick Justin Herbert in deciding when to debut Tagovailoa.