Ryan Fitzpatrick not worried about quarterback competition with Rosen

The Miami Dolphins made Ryan Fitzpatrick one of their few early free agent signings and at the time, he was the only quarterback. That’s not the case now.

Speaking with the media following the first wave of voluntary OTA’s, Ryan Fitzpatrick made it clear that a quarterback competition is something that he is not only used to but expects.

"“I’ve always had to earn every opportunity that I’ve received, so I love it. I love the competition. I love being out here and every day, whether it’s a competition with myself or somebody else, (I am) trying to be the best me that I can be. We’re two days into OTAs, but the mentality of the group right now and the way we’re working, we’re heading in the right direction.” – MiamiDolphins.com"

Fitzpatrick was also asked about Josh Rosen, the Dolphins addition to the quarterback competition and unlike former Ravens quarterback and new Broncos main guy, Joe Flacco, he doesn’t have a problem with Rosen learning from him.

Flacco was asked if he was going to help 2nd round pick Drew Lock learn the ropes, he replied with a “that’s not my job” quote. Fitzpatrick didn’t say that he was there to help Rosen along but would help by leading by example. Thus leaving the choice to Rosen.

"“I think the way that I’ve done it throughout my career, whether I’m the guy or not the guy, is I try to prepare the best way I can prepare and do the things that have gotten me to where I am in my career. If guys choose to do that as an example and follow it, they can. If they don’t, they can do whatever they want. But I’m a guy that’s going to work hard and try to lead by example. If people want to follow, they can.”"

Fitzpatrick went on to say that his first impressions of Rosen have been good, calling the situation “great so far”. He said the two have lockers next to each other.

Fitzpatrick has been around the league for a very long time and while he has not found a lot of success on the field, he knows how to prep for games and how to gameplan, something that the young Rosen didn’t get much help with in Arizona.

Now the veteran quarterback will be once again in a competition that he has grown accustomed to his entire NFL career.

For the rest of the interview, Fitzpatrick avoided questions about whether he would have signed with the Dolphins had Rosen already been on the roster or being considered for a position. He kept to the script with the cliche’s of “I’m here to work hard and take care of what I can”.

One interesting note from Fitzpatrick, however, came in a question about the offensive system. Asked if this is similar to the Patriots offense, Fitzpatrick said that the base system is but that it is “multiple” and that it works off the strengths of the players “emphasizing certain talents”. This is a big change from the Adam Gase years where players were expected to fit into that scheme.

Gase wasn’t known as a flexible head coach in terms of his players and their abilities. We saw a lot of this last year with the use of tight-end Mike Gesicki. Perhaps this is going to change for the better after all.