On the heels of their fourth straight loss, the Dolphins received troubling news.
Tua Tagovailoa is back in the team’s concussion protocol, inviting questions about his return to action and when his latest injury happened.
Mike McDaniel said it was too early to tell if this will sideline Tagovailoa for the Dolphins’ Week 17 matchup with the Patriots, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes
Teddy Bridgewater will be the team’s first-stringer for much of this week in practice.
Availability concerns aside, this particular player suffering another head injury will bring considerable scrutiny given the events from earlier this season.
McDaniel did not know if Tua suffered a concussion against the Packers or what play exactly landed him in the protocol again, saying no one recognized what hit could have triggered this.
A Twitter user’s video is making the rounds, however, as to when this latest Tagovailoa setback occurred.
If this is the play in which Tagovailoa suffered the injury, the third-year quarterback played the entire second half with concussion symptoms that were not noticed by independent spotters. Tagovailoa did not report any symptoms Sunday.
“This is something that just came across my plate a couple hours ago,” McDaniel said Monday. “As far as the game was concerned, no one recognized anything with regard to any sort of hit. I can’t really tell you exactly what it was. I’m not totally positive on that, but it was something that he met with the doctors today and discussed some symptoms and then from that, as you guys know, from there on, that’s between Tua and the doctors and we’ll move forward as information is projected towards us.”
This is Tagovailoa’s third bout run-in with concussion-like symptoms this season. The Dolphins’ handling of their quarterback produced a controversy in Week 3, when he showed concussion-like symptoms but was allowed to stay in the game — a Miami win over Buffalo.
That initiated an NFLPA inquiry and led to the NFL revising its concussion protocol. Tagovailoa, whom the team said navigated concussion protocol during the Week 3 game, played four days later.
The talented passer was then transported off the field during a game against the Bengals with a confirmed concussion. He missed the next three games. Based on this history, it is unlikely Tua will play against the Patriots.
The Dolphins are 8-4 in games Tagovailoa finishes and 0-3 in other contests, leading them toward the playoff bubble after they had bounced back upon their starter’s return.
Tagovailoa threw interceptions on the Dolphins’ final three drives, dropping them to 8-7. Its playoff chances notwithstanding, the team will be under a microscope for how it handles what is either Tagovailoa’s second or third concussion this season.
