Decision to start Tua broke Fitzpatrick's heart

One day after Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores elevated rookie Tua Tagovailoa to starting quarterback, the recently demoted Ryan Fitzpatrick said the timing of the move “broke my heart,” as he wonders whether he has started his last NFL game.

“I was shocked by it. It definitely caught me off guard. It was a hard thing for me to hear yesterday, just kind of digesting the news. My heart just hurt all day. It was heartbreaking for me,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. “Flo kind of said what he said and said what he said to you guys as well, and that’s the decision and the direction that the organization is going in.”

“Obviously we’ve talked in the past, me and you guys, about how I’m the placeholder and this eventually was going to happen,” Fitzpatrick added. “It was just a matter of kind of when, not if. It still just … it broke my heart yesterday. It’s a tough thing for me to hear and to now have to deal with, but I’m going to do my best with it.”