Dolphins HC Brian Flores: Tua Tagovailoa 'is our quarterback'

Last week, Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores reiterated previous comments and said that the plan is for Tua Tagovailoa to be his starting quarterback, "barring injury," through the remainder of the season even though the Dolphins have repeatedly been linked with Houston Texans signal-caller Deshaun Watson in trade rumors. 

Watson isn't playing for Houston following his offseason trade request and as he faces 22 lawsuits alleging acts of sexual assault and misconduct and 10 criminal complaints, and Flores was once again asked about his depth chart coming off Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills that dropped his team to 1-7 on the season. 

"I understand the question," Flores told reporters Monday, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "I basically answer it every day the same way: Tua is our quarterback. Any conversations I have with [General Manager] Chris [Grier] and [owner] Steve [Ross], we’ll keep it internal." 

Flores added: 

"When I say Tua is the quarterback, I don’t know how much more I can say. I think when I say Tua is the quarterback, I don’t know how much more I can say. That’s kind of the way I can handle this, and approach this the last few weeks." 

It's been reported Houston wants some combination of three first-round draft picks and three other "assets" for Watson even though his legal issues could eventually make him ineligible to play for some time due to a suspension or to him being placed on the commissioner's exempt list. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, so time is running out for Miami or any other would-be buyer to acquire Watson for the current campaign.