Flores says Tua not 'auditioning' for Dolphins' starting job

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores rejects the suggestion that this season is an audition for rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

"There's a couple things out there, let's call it a source close to Dolphins thinking saying that we are auditioning Tua," Flores said, according to ESPN's Cameron Wolfe. "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. That would be the opposite of giving someone a 10-game audition. That's just my thinking on that, just so everybody's clear."

Miami selected Tagovailoa fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. He made his first career start this past weekend against the Los Angeles Rams, during which he completed 12 of 22 pass attempts for 93 yards and a touchdown in a 28-17 victory.

Tagovailoa's debut came as a bit of a surprise after Ryan Fitzpatrick led Miami to a 3-3 record to begin the campaign. Flores cited the rookie's readiness and gradual improvement in practice as reasons for the timing of the change under center.

Another motivating factor for Tagovailoa's start was that Miami owns both the Houston Texans' first- and second-round picks in next year's draft, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Houston is 1-6 so far this season.

However, Flores doesn't believe the team is interested in drafting another quarterback next spring. Instead, he's focused on developing the club around his young signal-caller.

"Since I've been here, I think everybody has heard me talk about the development of players, improvement on a daily basis," 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 will lead the 4-3 Dolphins into a Sunday showdown with the Arizona Cardinals.