The Dolphins will practice on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium without their presumptive starting quarterback.
Via multiple reporters in attendance at the session, Ryan Fitzpatrick left the practice field before the session began. Here’s how Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald described it: “Before dolphins practice begins, Coach Brian Flores just walked QB Ryan Fitzpatrick off the field with his arm around him. Fitz seemed distraught. Not injury related.” (Apparently, the tweet has been deleted; others have posted similar tweets, however.)
Fitzpatrick missed a day recently for personal reasons, initially prompting speculation he could be gone longer than that.
Without Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins have two quarterbacks: Rookie Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft, and Josh Rosen, the tenth overall pick in 2018.
The Dolphins did not add a fourth quarterback after Fitzpatrick missed a day of practice. If/when they do, that could be a sign of something. We don’t know what at this point, but something.
UPDATE 12:10 p.m. ET: Coach Brian Flores told reporters after practice that Fitzpatrick’s mother has passed away.