The Miami Dolphins are hopeful that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be back on the field as early as Week 8.
Head coach Mike McDaniel shared positive updates on Tagovailoa’s recovery but emphasized that the process is still ongoing.
“So far so good,” McDaniel said of Tagovailoa’s progress. “Nothing negative so far, but we’re still in the process.”
Tagovailoa is expected to consult with medical specialists this week as he navigates the final stages of the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Although his return remains uncertain until he clears these steps, the soonest he could come off injured reserve would be for the Dolphins’ Week 8 matchup.
NFL rules require players placed on IR to miss at least four games.
The 25-year-old quarterback has not played since Miami’s Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa has a concerning history of concussions, having suffered two during the 2022 season, which caused him to miss five games, including the Dolphins’ playoff defeat to the Bills.
Despite the seriousness of his injuries, the NFL has made it clear that they will not influence Tagovailoa’s return, leaving the decision up to him and the Dolphins’ medical team.
“Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has been on injured reserve since Sept. 17 after suffering the third documented concussion of his pro career, is ‘seeing top experts’ around the country, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills told reporters during a conference call,” ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported.
“Other than enforcing the concussion protocol it administrates along with the NFL Players Association, Sills said the league will not have a role in determining when – or if – Tagovailoa returns to the field.”
Dr. Sills offered further insight into the complexities of concussion management, stressing that predicting future risks is not an exact science.
“It’s not like we can put in your number of concussions and how long between them and your age and some unusual constant or Avogadro’s number that always seemed to be in freshman chemistry somehow and come up with a risk,” Sills told ESPN.
“It just doesn’t work that way. So what we end up having to do is look at the totality of the patient’s experience, how many concussions, the interval between those concussions, some about duration of symptoms after each concussion, and then very much the patient’s voice about where they are in their journey, their career, their age and things of that nature.
“From that, we try as medical professionals to provide our best guess. But that’s really what it is, is a guess at what is someone’s future risk of concussion.”
After Tagovailoa suffered his latest concussions, there were calls from many – including current players and coaches – for Tua to retire from football.
However, it’s since been made perfectly clear that he plans to continue playing.
While McDaniel wasn’t specific about the expected timetable for Tua’s return to the field, his comments indicate that everything is going according to plan. In other words, we can expect to see the tough SOB back under center come Week 8.
What are your thoughts on McDaniel’s comments? … Will the Dolphins be able to keep their season afloat in these next few weeks before Tua’s return???