Hours before they play, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins agree on key point

On Friday afternoon, after a late November end-of-week practice that wasn’t necessarily taxing, coach Brian Flores and assistants watched the tape of the workout and paid extremely close attention to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

And Tagovailoa, who was nursing a left (throwing) hand issue the team describes as a thumb injury, was not at his best in the opinion of the coaching staff.

That’s when the Dolphins all but finalized the decision to start Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback against the New York Jets on Sunday and make Tagovailoa inactive for the game, according to a source.

It was a decision the Dolphins had been uncertain about earlier in the week but ultimately are very comfortable with.

And it was a decision that did not take the New York Jets by surprise, although it was disappointing to them, according to sources. Because while the Jets prepared for both Miami quarterbacks, they preferred to face Tagovailoa.

So this was a decision that everyone agrees puts the better quarterback under center for the Dolphins today in their game against the New York Jets.

And now think about that.

The Dolphins and Jets both agree Fitzpatrick gives Miami a better chance to win Sunday.

This certainly isn’t the first time the Dolphins make this calculation.

They decided Fitzpatrick would be more effective than Tagovailoa at the beginning of this season because of his greater experience and knowledge. They decided he was better to try to author a comeback for the Dolphins in last Sunday’s final quarter against the Denver Broncos, so they benched Tagovailoa.

And, of course, with Tagovailoa at less than 100 percent now, the move to Fitzpatrick wasn’t really a hand-wringing decision.

The Dolphins, by the way, came as close to cementing that decision as they publicly wanted by downgrading Tagovailoa on Saturday afternoon. He was declared questionable after practice on Friday but downgraded to doubtful on Saturday even though the team had no physical practice that day before leaving for New Jersey.

So the Dolphins basically said Tagovailoa’s status got worse from one day to the next even without strenuous activity.

And where does this all leave us?

Well, it’s going to be interesting.

Because once Tagovailoa is deemed healthy again -- and it should be understood he believes he could have played on Sunday -- he should be the starter.

That’s the expectation the Dolphins set when they gave the rookie the starting job the first week of November. They crossed the line from managing this season with their veteran to fully starting the clock on the future with their rookie.

So Flores, as the ultimate football decision-maker, has to send a clear message that Tagovailoa remains the Dolphins’ starter.

The question is will the coach do this?

What happens if it takes Tagovailoa another week or two to fully heal? And in that time, Fitzpatrick plays well against the Jets on Sunday and Cincinnati Bengals next weekend?

Is the coach going to turn away from a quarterback playing well to a quarterback other teams prefer to face?

Flores did that at the beginning of November after Fitzpatrick had an excellent game against San Francisco and a so-so one against the Jets. He handed the reins of the offense to Tagovailoa amid a winning streak -- and was rewarded by the rookie because the Dolphins extended the streak.

But will the coach make the same calculation later in the season as his team battles for a postseason berth?

There’s also this: How would the shuffling at quarterback affect the offense overall? Will players that have had more success with Fitzpatrick at quarterback -- including DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki -- continue to run routes with the same alacrity when Tagovailoa returns as they do when Fitzpatrick is running the unit?

(With Fitzpatrick, players lower on the progression know they still might get the football. With Tagovailoa, players lower on the progression do not get the ball thrown to them as often.)

Ultimately, Flores has to decide what he’s trying to accomplish this season.

Is he trying to get the Dolphins in the playoffs, which suggests sticking with Fitzpatrick? Or is he trying to set the Dolphins up for a championship run years from now, which suggests giving the job back to Tagovailoa if he’s the player the team believes.

To me, this is a no-brainer, folks.

Fitzpatrick said last week the Dolphins are “Tua’s team.” And that needs to stand. There’s no guarantee that sticking with Fitzpatrick will pay dividends because he’s often inconsistent and like a mircowave -- very hot when he’s on but kind of cold when he’s not.

Returning to Tagovailoa, meanwhile, is right because he has to get a chance to grow and prove himself against those teams that don’t really fear him. He has to get a chance to play so the Dolphins can be certain of what they’ve got at quarterback going forward.

How the Dolphins handle this should be fascinating.