AP

When the Dolphins traded for quarterback Josh Rosen two weeks ago, it quickly became fashionable to suggest that he’ll be the starter for a year and then possibly supplanted (again) by a first-round rookie. Before that can happen, Rosen will have to win the starting job.

Coach Brian Flores made it clear at Friday’s rookie minicamp session that the starting quarterback job will indeed be determined by competition, and that Flores would have no problem with baby-carrots-and-birthday-cake-fed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick emerging as the victor.

“If he wins the competition, absolutely I’m good with that,” Flores said, via Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I think that would be what’s best for the team and best for the Miami Dolphins. . . . That would be the same at all positions. We’re going to play the players we feel that are going to win us football games.”

But what of the concern that Rosen not playing would make it harder to determine whether he can be the quarterback in 2020 and beyond?

“Thankfully, we get to evaluate him every day in practice,” Flores said, smiling.

Maybe Flores was smiling because he realizes that practicing and playing are two very different things. For the Dolphins to truly evaluate Rosen, Rosen needs to play. Of course, if he can’t perform well enough in practice to win the starting job, maybe that’s the answer to the second question.

Regardless, unless the competition is #rigged, the best man will play, with the goal of the Dolphins winning as many games as possible this year. Even if that runs counter to the sense lurking at the highest levels of the organization that the best way to thrive over the long haul is to at some point perform so poorly that a 10-plus-year franchise quarterback can be drafted.