Dolphins' Brian Flores: Ryan Fitzpatrick Leads Josh Rosen in Starting QB Battle

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said Tuesday that veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is leading second-year man Josh Rosen in the team's quarterback battle.

Flores told the media it is "pretty clear" that Fitz has the edge. Flores added: "He has been more productive. A lot of leadership ability. It's still a competition, every day."

Miami has a new quarterback situation this season after signing Fitzpatrick and acquiring Rosen from the Arizona Cardinals.

The 36-year-old Fitzpatrick owns a massive experience edge over Rosen. He's played in 141 regular-season games and made 126 starts during a journeyman career with the St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

For his career, Fitz has completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 29,357 yards, 190 touchdowns and 148 interceptions. He owns a 50-75-1 record as a starter.

While Fitzpatrick has never reached the playoffs, he is coming off a highly productive season with the Bucs. He was red hot out of the gates as the fill-in starter for the suspended Jameis Winston, and he went on to make seven starts and appear in eight games overall.

Although Fitz went just 2-5 in his starts, he completed a career-best 66.7 percent of his passes for 2,366 yards, 17 touchdowns and 12 picks, while also rushing for two scores.

If Miami's goal is to be competitive and win some games in 2019, then starting Fitzpatrick is a logical move. He also has experience in the AFC East, having previously played for the Bills and Jets.

But if the Dolphins want to enter rebuilding mode and see whether Rosen is their quarterback of the future, Rosen could open the year as a starter.

Arizona selected Rosen with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft out of UCLA. He was thrust into action early in the season and made 13 starts as a rookie.

Rosen went just 3-10 and completed 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as the sacrificial lamb for a Cards team that was a train wreck.

After hiring Kliff Kingsbury as their new head coach, the Cardinals selected quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, which made Rosen expendable. Arizona flipped Rosen to Miami for a 2019 second-round pick that it used on UMass wide receiver Andy Isabella, along with a fifth-rounder in 2020.

Rosen has three years left on his contract and a team option for 2022, but there may be a sense of urgency to determine if he can be Miami's long-term answer.

The Dolphins figure to be one of the NFL's worst teams in 2019 regardless of who starts under center, so they will likely be positioned to draft one of 2020's top quarterbacks with an early first-round pick.

If Flores goes with Fitzpatrick as the starter, Rosen will be under pressure to prove he deserves an extended chance to be Miami's franchise quarterback.