Ryan Fitzpatrick has got the nod over rookie Tua Tagovailoa to be the Miami Dolphins' Week 1 starting quarterback.

Miami head coach Brian Flores confirmed that 37-year-old Fitzpatrick will be under centre against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

"In a year like this with no OTAs, limited time, this is not ground-breaking news," Flores told reporters on Monday.

"[Fitzpatrick] has done a good job throughout training camp."

Fitzpatrick is entering his 16th year in the league and was Miami's starter for 13 of their 16 games in 2019.

They went 5-8 in that time, with Fitzpatrick throwing for 3,529 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while he added another four scores and 243 yards on the ground.

Having played for seven other franchises, Fitzpatrick made Miami his eighth different home in the NFL when he signed a two-year deal ahead of the 2019 season.

Miami, who entered that campaign clearly in a full-blown rebuild, were always expected to select a long-term answer at quarterback in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

And so it proved as they selected Alabama's Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick.

Tagovailoa had a fine college career with the Crimson Tide but has not played since dislocating his hip and suffering a posterior wall fracture in November.

He was fully cleared for practice when the Dolphins finally got together on the field in August.

However, with the offseason shortened by the coronavirus pandemic and no preseason games taking place this year, Flores has made the decision to sit the rookie behind Fitzpatrick to start the campaign.