Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa out for at least Jets game while in concussion protocol, but coach says MRI was clean

While the Miami Dolphins remain without a timeline for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s return from his concussion, he is definitively being ruled out for Sunday’s game at the New York Jets.

“I can comfortably say that he’s out for this game against the Jets,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said of Tagovailoa on Monday as his team came back from a weekend off after playing Thursday night in Cincinnati. “It’s too early to give a definite timeline.”

McDaniel said Tagovailoa’s MRI from Friday, which was still pending when he last spoke that afternoon, came back clean. That comes in addition to the X-rays and CT scans that the coach said didn’t show anything concerning.

Tagovailoa was at Dolphins facilities on Monday as he remains in concussion protocol but the rest of the team practices. The third-year quarterback “had a couple of good days,” according to McDaniel, after the concussion that knocked him out of the Thursday loss to the Bengals.

Tagovailoa, following the sack from Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupou that drove his back and then his head to the turf from the whiplash, was carted off the field on a stretcher and taken to at University of Cincinnati medical facilities before being released late Thursday night and traveling back to South Florida with the team.

It was the second blow to the head that Tagovailoa took in five days. He also had the back of his head connect with the turf in the Sept. 25 win against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. Pushed on his back by Bills linebacker Matt Milano, Tagovailoa grabbed at his head, shook off cobwebs and stumbled once he got up.

After he was checked by doctors on the field and then in the locker room at the two-minute warning of the first half against Buffalo, Tagovailoa was cleared at halftime from concussion protocol and allowed to return in the second half. Following an initial team announcement of a head injury, Tagovailoa and McDaniel said postgame that it was actually a back injury that caused Tagovailoa to appear woozy on the field.

The NFL Players Association immediately initiated an investigation into the process of clearing Tagovailoa that Sunday. Thus far, while the investigation is ongoing, it has resulted in the Saturday termination of the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant assigned to the concussion check, but the NFL and NFLPA released a joint statement that said no conclusions about medical errors or protocol violations have been made.

McDaniel, on Monday, said he remains confident in the team’s process and everything involved with how they approached the medical situation in clearing the Dolphins quarterback for the second half of the Week 3 game before sending him back onto the field last Thursday.

“I can’t speak on what the league and, specifically, the union decided to do with that particular specialist,” McDaniel said.

He also reacted to the coming changes to close loopholes allowing players that display “gross motor instability” back into games through concussion protocol: “Moving forward, if it’s safer for one extra player, then I’m all for it.”

Added outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips: “That’s fair. I think it’s always better to be overcautious when it comes to, especially head injuries.”

Players looked to move on over the weekend from watching their quarterback go down on Thursday.

“Obviously, just seeing a player get hurt is never a good sign,” defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah said. “We had a good practice [Monday]. Everyone was upbeat, up-tempo.”

Said wide receiver Tyreek Hill: “Tua’s fine. I’ve had a chance to talk to him on our off days. There’s really nothing to talk about further. Tua is fine. He’s in good hands.”

Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said, although he felt for Tagovailoa, he didn’t necessarily feel it was a dirty play from Tupou, speaking as a defensive lineman that understands the quickness with which that play develops.

Said tight end Mike Gesicki expressed confidence in the league’s medical protocols: “I do feel comfortable with the league and what they do and how they handle things. Obviously, safety and player safety should be No. 1, and I think that, for the most part, they handle that.”

While Tagovailoa is out, backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will start. He finished 14 of 23 for 193 yards, a touchdown and an interception after substituting for Tagovailoa on Thursday in Cincinnati.

“We’re very confident in Teddy Bridgewater,” McDaniel said. “It’s one of the reasons you decide to go that direction in an offseason and prioritize your backup quarterback, is for these moments. We went out and signed him, and it’s been one of the better things that could’ve happened to us for the team’s dynamics, for his contributions to how Tua’s playing and his ability to play, as well as his part in the development of [rookie] Skylar [Thompson].”

The last time Bridgewater replaced a starter as a backup, he was 5-0 leading the New Orleans Saints when they were without Drew Brees in 2019. Bridgewater then went 4-11 with the Carolina Panthers in 2020 and 7-7 as the Denver Broncos’ starter last season.

Thompson will be Bridgewater’s backup while Tagovailoa is out. The Dolphins, on Monday, also brought back quarterback Reid Sinnett, signing him to the practice squad. Sinnett was a free agent after being released from the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad on Sept. 7. Last October, Sinnett was acquired by Philadelphia off waivers from Miami.

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