Tua Tagovailoa is zeroing in on his return to the field. Per Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told his team that the starting quarterback is expected to start practicing next Wednesday. If all goes well, there’s “hope” that Tagovailoa will be under center for Miami in Week 8.
This timeline would mark a minimum stay on injured reserve for the QB. Tagovailoa landed on the shelf after Week 2, when he suffered his third concussion in two years. It was uncertain if the former first-round pick would even continue his NFL career, much less take the field when first eligible. McDaniel provided some optimism to the situation earlier this week when he admitted that he expects his starter to return in 2024. Now, it sounds like the league’s 2023 passing leader is intending to play against the Cardinals next Sunday.
Per Russini, the organization and the player used his IR stint to evaluate his future, which included visits with multiple specialists. Fortunately, Tagovailoa hasn’t dealt with any lingering issues from his latest concussion, and Russini writes that the signal-caller would play in Week 7 if he was eligible.
Tagovailoa’s return should provide a spark to a Dolphins offense that has struggled mightily during his absence. After finishing second in the NFL last season with 29.2 points per game, the Dolphins are averaging a league-worst 12 points per game in 2024. The team has turned to the likes of Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley to guide the offense in recent weeks. That duo has combined for 397 passing yards in their three starts; for comparison’s sake, Tagovailoa threw for 338 yards in the season opener. For this weekend, Huntley is still expected to be the team’s starting quarterback.
If Tagovailoa does indeed return for Week 8, there’s a chance the Dolphins could find themselves at 2-4. The organization will be counting on the former fifth-overall pick to turn around their season,
No dog in the fight as the team or even the player goes. That said, from the common sense perspective, he should retire. These concussions have left him in very awkward physical condition as he lay on the field. How he or his doctors gave not told him to hang it up is beyond me. The NFL can pull players off the field with questions of head o juries but allow a player to return like this? The message I get from this is all that will dow dressing about we care, is just that. Window dressing. Money is still king!
I’m not a Fins fan, but I want the best for Tua’s health.
I wish him the best.
Hopefully, he will go on and have a great career. But it’s clear as day that Maimi’s offense hums with him behind center than other QB’s.