Ryan Fitzpatrick clearly is a smart guy, and the Harvard product knows Tua Tagovailoa is going to replace him as the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback sooner than later.

The 16-year NFL veteran and former Jets QB knows whenever the change is made, Tagovailoa — the No.5 overall pick in the 2020 draft — will be ready for the opportunity.

“I know my job security really for me is a week-to-week proposition and I’ve got to go out there and prove it every single week,” Fitzpatrick told Peter King on NBC’s “Football Morning in America” podcast. “With Tua, just being able to slow down sometimes, to be able to take the extra minute to explain something. — my thought process or to sit on the bench during a game and instruct and talk and answer questions — that stuff is maybe a little bit different than how it would go normally.

“But I know what my role is. I know that I’m keeping the seat warm for him. I know the talent that he has and I’m excited whenever he gets his opportunity. I feel like I’m going to play a big part in that.”

The Dolphins have opened the season with three losses in four games with the 37-year-old Fitzpatrick at quarterback. He has completed 69 percent of his passes for 994 yards, but he’s thrown more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes (four).

The 22-year-old Tagovailoa led Alabama to the NCAA national championship game as a sophomore in 2018 before a devastating hip injury cut short his junior season. The lefty-throwing Hawaii native hasn’t thrown a pass yet for the Dolphins, who will visit San Francisco in Week 5.

“He’s a very interesting guy,” Fitzpatrick said. “He asks a lot of good questions, good football questions when we’re in the meeting room or even on the sideline during a game. You can tell that he’s very smart in that regard. Football-smart.

“I think he’s probably a little bit of an older soul, just in terms in some of the stuff that he’s into and some of the discussions we can have. It’s been a lot of fun getting to know him. He’s got a lively personality that makes everybody smile around the building.”