MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. >> Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will not play in the team’s Week 3 game at the Las Vegas Raiders, Dolphins coach Brian Flores announced Wednesday.

After initial reports indicated Tagovailoa had bruised ribs following a hit from Buffalo Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa that knocked him out of Sunday’s 35-0 loss to the Bills, Flores said fractured ribs were discovered on Tagovailoa after further tests.

The Dolphins will go with backup Jacoby Brissett this Sunday in Las Vegas after Brissett finished the loss to Buffalo following Tagovailoa’s exit to conclude the second drive.

“He’s in a lot of pain, so he’ll be out this week,” Flores said of Tagovailoa. “Jacoby will start. We’re just going to take it week-to-week, really, let’s call it day-to-day and week-to-week, but he’ll be out this week.

“Look, this is a tough kid. He wants to play. He’s actually trying to play and we’re just going to save him from himself a little bit on this and hold him out this week and then take it week-to-week from there.”

Flores was noncommittal on Wednesday about whether Tagovailoa will be placed on injured reserve, which would sideline him for a minimum of three weeks. According to mayoclinic.org, broken ribs can take one to two months to heal.

“He wants to play and I think he would try to play, but we’ve just got to see how he responds over the next days,” Flores said. “That’s not something that we’re really thinking about right now, but we got to see how this trends over the course of the week.”

While playing without the team’s starter and second-year quarterback whom the Dolphins used the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL draft to acquire, Miami now knows who it’s going with for a key Week 3 AFC matchup against the 2-0 Raiders early in the week.

“We don’t want this. Nobody wants this,” Flores said. “We have the information, we [made] a decision and we’re going to move forward with Jacoby. The team knows that. The team understands that. Not ideal. Not ideal, but we’re just going to move forward with the guys we have.”

Brissett was 24 of 40 for 169 yards and an interception from the time he entered for Tagovailoa against the Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. He and the offense did not produce any points in the shutout loss.

“Practice reps always help. We’ll have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to kind of go through our practice routine — early down, third down, red zone,” Flores said.

“Obviously, he didn’t get a lot of reps last week. He’ll get a lot more this week to build some timing and some chemistry with the offensive line, the backs, the tight ends, the receivers. That always helps. When you get that timing, you get those reps, you get some execution with some of those guys in practice, hopefully it carries over into the game.”

Brissett also comes in with a starter mentality, as he indicated after the Bills game. He does not consider himself a backup in the league after collecting 32 career starts during his previous time with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

Tagovailoa was driven to the ground Sunday on a hit as he threw an incomplete pass on a fourth-down play. He also took two earlier sacks on Miami’s opening drive.

“He’s in good spirits,” Flores said. “This is a tough kid. He’s doing everything he can to get back as quickly as a he can right now. He’s getting better. He wants to be out there, wants to be with his teammates and I think this is the right move for him from a health standpoint.”

Reid Sinnett will be called up from the practice squad to back up Brissett.