The rumors continue to swirl around the quarterback position in Miami. Brian Flores isn't wasting time on the matter -- at least not publicly.
Flores was blunt in his response to the latest round of questions regarding Tua Tagovailoa's future and a potential deal involving Texans signal-caller Deshaun Watson, who has not played this season.
Watson currently faces 22 civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault and misconduct during massage sessions, as well as 10 criminal complaints . Watson also requested a trade from the Texans this past offseason.
"I don't really get into rumors. Tua is our quarterback," Flores stated Friday. "I'm happy with our quarterback situation, and I will leave it at that."
Miami has been linked to Watson as a potential destination for the inactive quarterback for some time, due largely to the Dolphins' decision to select Tagovailoa in the first round of the 2020 draft and a lack of convincing return from the passer who has admittedly not been given much of a runway. The scrutiny has been intense, almost unusually so for a young quarterback, but after Miami nearly reached the playoffs last season, expectations have accelerated the team's clock.
More important than a timeline is capital. Miami has a haul of picks available to move in a potential deal for Watson, leading to endless speculation.
All of this swirls around Miami's facility, home to a team that has won just one game in six tries this season, and just gave one the NFL's last winless teams (the Jaguars) its first victory of 2021 last weekend. It would be understandable if Tagovailoa might end up a little distracted by the noise.
To his credit, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins have tuned that out, at least according to Flores.
"I think his preparation, the way he practices and the way he performs has been good. I thought he played very well last week," Flores said. "He was out for a couple games, a few games, and he came back and played very well last week. So, I think his psyche is in a good place. He's a confident kid, he's a tough kid. Really, he's played in two games this year, so he should have a lot of confidence in the way he's played. We have a lot of confidence in him because of the way he's played. Our focus is on Atlanta and for him to play well again."
Tagovailoa is Miami's quarterback until he isn't, it seems. After missing three games due to broken ribs, his first goal should just be to maintain his health while working toward improving. After all, his future isn't really in his control at this stage, anyway.
