Tua Time remains on hold as Fitzpatrick named starter vs. 49ers

The Miami Dolphins will continue to roll with Ryan Fitzpatrick as their starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, the team announced Tuesday.

Head coach Brian Flores said Monday he won't be rushed into playing first-round quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who's 11 months removed from undergoing surgery for a dislocated hip and posterior wall fracture.

"If it was my kid and he had a serious injury like that, I wouldn't want his coach to be in a rush to put him in there because of media pressure," Flores said.

"No one is going to pressure me into doing anything."

Miami's playoff hopes are dwindling after starting the season 1-3, though the expanded playoff format should help teams around the league stay in the hunt longer than usual.

Fitzpatrick has thrown for 994 yards and four touchdowns against five interceptions - two of which came in the Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks - through four weeks. He's also completed 69% of his passes.

The push for Tagovailoa to make his debut has ramped up amid impressive early season performances from fellow rookie quarterbacks Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tagovailoa starred at Alabama before being drafted by Miami at No. 5 overall in this year's draft. He finished his college career with 87 touchdowns against just 11 interceptions in 32 games.

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