Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel believes quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will return to play this season, although he didn’t provide a specific timeline for his comeback.
Tagovailoa has been on injured reserve for the past four weeks following a concussion on 12 September.
He is not eligible to return until Week 8, when the Dolphins face the Arizona Cardinals.
While McDaniel did not confirm if Tagovailoa will play that week, he did offer positive news regarding the quarterback’s potential return.
He said: “I do expect to see him playing football in 2024.
“But where that is, exactly – we’ll let the process continue, since we still have time before he can even entertain anything.
“We’ll make sure that he’s diligent this week and assess after that.”
#Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, for the first time, confirms that QB Tua Tagovailoa is expected to play again in 2024. Tagovailoa is still on Injured Reserve, eligible to resume practicing on Oct. 23.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 14, 2024
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions is well-documented.
Since joining the NFL in 2020, he has suffered multiple concussions, including two in the 2022 season.
Following a third head injury that same year, the NFL updated its concussion protocols.
After his 26 December 2022, concussion, the Dolphins shut Tagovailoa down for the rest of the season to allow him to fully recover.
But unlike last season, the Dolphins do not appear to be planning to sideline Tagovailoa for an extended period.
McDaniel stated that he has focused solely on what is best for the quarterback’s health and career, rather than contemplating whether Tagovailoa would return to football.
He added: “I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned, for me as a head coach, it’s absolutely imperative for me to control the controllable.
“It was so fast from him getting hurt to immediately going into, ‘alright, what’s the best thing for you, Tua?’ I didn’t really allow myself any sort of contemplation moments on whether he would or wouldn’t. I was so concerned with where he was at in his career, for his family.”
In Tagovailoa’s absence, the Dolphins have used two different quarterbacks, Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley.
Huntley, who was signed from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, took over as the starter after Thompson was injured.
The Dolphins plan to continue with Huntley as their starter until Tagovailoa is cleared to return.
