MIAMI _ Ryan Fitzpatrick's best statistical game came in game No. 155 of his long career.
That's also his most recent.
His 419 yards Sunday against the Bengals were the most in a game ever for the 37-year-old quarterback.
Fitzpatrick's raw numbers, while good, only tell a small part of the story of what he has meant to the Dolphins. Playing on probably the least talented team in the league, he's ninth in ESPN's quarterback metric, QBR (62.3).
What's more, there's no chance that the Dolphins would have won four games this year if Brian Flores had stuck with Josh Rosen and not gone back to Fitzpatrick early in the season.
And yet, most everyone expects the Dolphins to actively look to improve the position this offseason. It would be a massive shock if the Dolphins don't select a quarterback in the first two days of the draft. There should be some appealing options in free agency, too, including possibly Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Teddy Bridgewater.
So Week 17 seemed like the right time to finally ask Flores one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding the organization:
Will Fitzpatrick, who is already guaranteed some $4 million _ including incentives next year, be a part of the 2020 Dolphins?
"I don't have a crystal ball here," Flores said. "I can tell you I love Fitz. I think he's done a great job for us. Those are conversations that are had at a later time. Those are exit meeting conversations. Those are conversations for Chris (Grier), myself, Brandon (Shore), the coaching staff. But he's done a great job for us this year. I love that he's our quarterback."
The natural follow-up: Has Fitzpatrick done anything this year that would prevent him from being part of the team in 2020?
"No."
The advantages to keeping Fitzpatrick are obvious, aside from the financial. He's still more than capable of getting the job done. The locker room adores him, and Fitzpatrick is the most natural leader the Dolphins have had at that position in a decade.
The Dolphins presumably will want a veteran to help mentor whatever young quarterback they inevitably add this offseason. And Rosen _ Fitzpatrick's understudy this year _ has nothing but complimentary things to say about the way Fitzpatrick has taken him under his wing.
But there are other factors at play.
Fitzpatrick was internally seen as a fine option in 2019 when the Dolphins didn't have any realistic expectations to win. But Stephen Ross wants his team to be much better next year, and might openly wonder how bringing back the same quarterback will result in more wins.
Then there's this angle: We don't know for sure if Fitzpatrick, who could make as much as $8 million in 2020, wants to continue to play.
He's consistently brushed off questions about his future. He's earned more than $63 million in his career. He's made it clear time and again that his No. 1 priority is playing. So perhaps if the Dolphins sign or draft a clear Week 1 starter in the coming weeks, he would be happier hanging it up than spending one last season as a backup.
These are all conversations surely taking place inside Dolphins headquarters, if they haven't already.
The team will pick no worse than sixth _ and perhaps as high second _ next April.
Joe Burrow is likely not going to get past Cincinnati at 1, but Tua Tagovailoa, assuming he declares, will absolutely be in play for the Dolphins. Or perhaps they fall in love with Justin Herbert, or any number of other quarterbacks expected to be part of this year's class.
In the coming days, the Dolphins will need to finalize their offseason plan.
Whether Fitzpatrick is part of it remains to be seen. But based on conversations with the team, both publicly and privately, it seems they hope he will be.
