Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is reportedly standing behind his quarterback. 

According to Jeff Darlington of ESPN, Flores addressed the team about the possibility of trading for Deshaun Watson and said Tua Tagovailoa is "our quarterback."

The team meeting comes after Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported Saturday that the AFC East team "emerged as the front-runner in trade discussions" with the Houston Texans regarding Watson.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported the Dolphins have not yet "been willing to meet Houston's high asking price" for Watson, while Robinson noted the Texans are looking for three first-round picks and two second-round picks.

Watson, a three-time Pro Bowler, has been the better quarterback on the field than Tagovailoa.

However, the Texans signal-caller is facing 22 lawsuits from women who have accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. Another two women who did not file civil lawsuits against Watson are among the 10 who filed formal complaints against him with Houston police.

The NFL is investigating Watson and has not yet issued a ruling or punishment.

As for Tagovailoa, Miami selected him with the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 draft. The Alabama product was solid during his rookie season and completed 64.1 percent of his passes for 1,814 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions while helping lead the Dolphins to a 10-6 record.

He figures to be the team's quarterback of the present and future given his draft position and age (23), although Miami has notably been mentioned in Watson trade rumors this offseason.

Yet Flores endorsed his current quarterback ahead of the Dolphins' season opener on Sept. 12 at the New England Patriots.

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly "really wants" to complete a trade for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Tuesday that the teams haven't been able to reach an agreement because the Texans aren't moving off their sky-high asking price, which includes three first-round draft picks and two second-round selections.

The Dolphins later denied the report, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:

Watson's short-term availability is uncertain because of ongoing investigations related to 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints filed against him by women who allege sexual assault and sexual misconduct during massage sessions dating back to March 2020.

The Texans are unwilling to reduce their demands because of Watson's on-field success, which established him as one of the NFL's best quarterbacks and will make him a valuable player whenever he returns to the field "whether in 2022, 2023 or 2024," according to Florio.

In turn, Houston's front office isn't rushing to make a deal and are on track to keep the 25-year-old Clemson product on its roster at least through the start of the regular season, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Watson requested a trade in January before the allegations became public.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins' immense interest in the three-time Pro Bowl selection comes as somewhat of surprise since they invested the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Although the 23-year-old didn't produce many big plays as a rookie, his overall numbers were solid—64.1 percent completion rate with 14 total touchdowns (11 passing and three rushing) and five interceptions in 10 games—especially when you consider he was returning from a serious hip injury that cut his final college season at Alabama short.

Giving him at least another year, and probably two or three, to showcase progress would be the typical route with a top-five pick.

Instead it sounds like Miami would be willing to move on with Watson if the opportunity arose. On Saturday, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson deemed the Dolphins the "front-runner" in the trade discussions.

It's a situation with a lot of variables because the NFL hasn't placed Watson on the commissioner's exempt list, so his status could change at any moment depending on the outcome of the investigations.

For now, Tagovailoa is the Dolphins starter as they prepare for their Week 1 clash at the New England Patriots on Sept. 12.

On Saturday, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported that the Miami Dolphins were the "frontrunner" in trade talks for Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is currently being sued by 22 women accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct in addition to being the subject of a criminal investigation:

On Monday, Dolphins head coach Brian Flores spoke to reporters about the type of players the organization looks for when attempting to improve the roster. While he didn't mention Watson by name, Flores said the team was looking for "high character" players:

There are a lot of things we weigh when we're making decisions—fit on the team, overall talent, salary cap. When we're talking about a player or players, we're always trying to do what is best for the Miami Dolphins. There are a lot of variables. We want a group that is tough, smart, competitive, loves to play and is team first. Those are the types of guys we're looking for. We have a high standard for the people we have in the organization. We want people with high character throughout the building.

Despite Flores' comments, Robinson reiterated his reporting on Monday:

The Dolphins did use the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, so any pursuit of Watson would be somewhat surprising unless the Dolphins' brass has already decided that the young quarterback's upside will never match the level of play that Watson has already hit. 

"He has taken a step as far as leadership and working with his teammates to get things right," Flores told reporters regarding Tagovailoa. "He is asking more questions to us as a coaching staff situationally. He has made some very good strides. There's still a lot of room for improvement. Hopefully we continue to make improvement."

But any team's potential interest in Watson is somewhat surprising given his unresolved legal situation. At the very least, he may be facing an NFL suspension regardless of how pending litigation or criminal investigations conclude. 

There's no question that on the field, Watson is one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. The 25-year-old threw for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions on a Texans' team largely devoid of dangerous weapons last year, completing 70.2 percent of his passes. He'd be a major upgrade for a wide collection of teams. 

But quarterbacks are also the faces of franchises in the NFL, and acquiring one who is being accused of sexual assault and misconduct by multiple women would be met with enormous, and justifiable, backlash. If Watson isn't traded and takes the field for the Texans, it will likely be met with a similar backlash. 

It's always possible that Roger Goodell will place Watson on the Commissioner's Exempt list until his litigation and any criminal investigations are resolved. However, so far the league has said there are "no restrictions" on Watson's team activities while its investigation is ongoing.

Still, it certainly remains a possibility that he won't see the field during the 2021 season. 

The Houston Texans have a little less than two weeks to finally make a decision regarding Deshaun Watson's status for the 2021 season: trade him for a discount or pay him to sit out.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported the team is playing a game of "chicken” with Watson's status, allowing the situation to linger to the last possible minute in hopes of getting what it desires in a trade. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported the Texans have a starting-point ask of three first-round picks, but hesitant teams have asked for any draft picks to be conditional on Watson's playing status. 

Watson is currently under criminal investigation for sexual assault in Houston and faces 22 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct. The three-time Pro Bowler requested a trade before the allegations came to light and has not backed off his desire to leave the franchise since then.

The Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins have been the two teams most regularly associated with Watson. Carolina owner David Tepper has been open about his desire to land a franchise quarterback, while the Dolphins have enough draft picks to trade for Watson and not greatly gut the team's future prospects. Miami could also send out second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in any trade.

The overwhelming likelihood is that Watson will remain on the Texans roster for the entire 2021 season. He's too valuable of a football player to trade at a massive discount but also too risky from an off-field perspective for other teams to mortgage their future. There will also be a significant public relations backlash against the team that eventually trades for Watson, regardless of the result of the criminal investigation.

The NFL is also conducting an investigation of its own and may levy a suspension even if no charges are filed.

With so much uncertainty associated with the situation, it's near-impossible to expect any resolution by Week 1.

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores addressed rumors of his team's interest in Houston Texans star Deshaun Watson and reaffirmed his belief in incumbent starter Tua Tagovailoa.

Flores told reporters Sunday he's "very confident in Tua" and praised the second-year quarterback's work in training camp and the preseason.

The comments come after Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported the Dolphins have "emerged as the frontrunner in trade discussions with the Texans" regarding a deal for Watson.

The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson reported Saturday they "remain intrigued" by the trade but aren't "willing to meet Houston’s high asking price" right now. Per Robinson, the Texans are looking to get three first-round picks and two second-rounders.

As Watson's relationship with Houston deteriorated over the winter, Miami quickly emerged as one of the more plausible landing spots.

In addition to their own first-round picks, the Dolphins have the San Francisco 49ers' first-rounders in 2022 and 2023 after the Niners moved up to take Trey Lance in the 2021 draft. In addition to draft compensation, Tagovailoa could go the other way to give the Texans a new young quarterback around whom to build the offense.

Watson's legal situation continues to overshadow his future with the Texans, though.

The three-time Pro Bowler is facing 22 lawsuits from women alleging sexual assault and misconduct. Ten women, two of whom haven't filed civil suits, have also filed formal complaints with police in Houston.

The NFL has yet to suspend Watson or place him on the commissioner's exempt list, so he could theoretically play in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But ESPN's Sarah Barshop posited a scenario in which he is active for each game and kept on the bench:

All of that uncertainly would presumably table any serious trade negotiations for the time being. However, the Dolphins and Texans continue to talk based on Robinson's report.

That puts Tagovailoa in an unenviable position.

It's tough to draw too many conclusions about the 2020 first-round pick from his rookie season since his dislocated hip left him unable to enjoy a full preseason and training camp.

With a strong start to 2021, perhaps he can show the Dolphins front office that its pursuit of Watson is unnecessary.

Washington Football Team quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said he was "floored" to learn he was being benched by the Miami Dolphins during their Week 7 bye last year after back-to-back wins where they scored a total of 67 points.

Fitzpatrick, who signed with Washington in March, told Robert Mays of The Athletic in an interview released Thursday he couldn't believe the decision by Dolphins head coach Brian Flores to hand the offense to rookie Tua Tagovailoa while they were firing on all cylinders.

"I have a ton of respect for [Flores], and we have a very good relationship," Fitzpatrick said. "But I thought it was a joke at first. We're putting Tua in? I was floored."

He added: "That was my team. ... I fought through the s--t with those guys. I get the way that the NFL works. I get it. But to have it happen the way it did..."

Chan Gailey, who served as the Dolphins' offensive coordinator last year before stepping down in January, was also caught off guard by the quarterback change.

"I was in total shock," Gailey told Mays. "We didn't even have a preseason. It was a totally new offense [for Tua]. We were just starting to hit our stride. We'd won two in a row and scored a bunch of points and moved the ball well. It came as a shock to me."

Miami carried a 3-3 record into its bye after an 0-2 start. It surged into playoff contention with five wins over its next six games (four starts by Tagovailoa and two by Fitzpatrick) and held a 9-5 record ahead of a Week 16 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With the offense struggling, Flores made the switch from Tagovailoa to Fitzpatrick while trailing 16-13 heading into the fourth quarter. "Fitz Magic" led the Dolphins to 13 points in the fourth in a 26-25 win to keep the team's postseason hopes alive.

It raised questions about who would start the regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills, but Fitzpatrick was ruled out after being placed on the COVID-19 list. Miami suffered a 56-26 blowout loss and missed the playoffs as a result.

Here's a look at the final numbers for both signal-callers in 2020:

• Fitzpatrick: 68.5% completion rate, 249.1 yards per game, 13 TD, 8 INT, 2 rushing TD

• Tagovailoa: 64.1% completion rate, 192.3 yards per game, 11 TD, 5 INT, 3 rushing TD

Although Tagovailoa has a pretty strong grip on the Dolphins' starting job for the 2021 season, the front office did add a veteran backup in Jacoby Brissett, who made 30 starts across for years with the Indianapolis Colts, to provide a little security at the position.

Fitzpatrick is expected to start for Washington, though he's facing training camp competition from Taylor Heinicke. It could become the ninth different team he's started for during a 17-year NFL career.

Unfortunately, Miami and Washington don't face off during the regular season because that game would have carried ample intrigue given Fitzpatrick's comments and both teams' status as playoff contenders.