After a 2022 season in which he suffered two confirmed concussions and most likely three head injuries, Tua Tagovailoa considered retirement. The Dolphins quarterback’s latest concussion brought calls for him to revisit that effort, but that has not taken place.

Indicating he has been symptom-free since the day after his Week 2 concussion, Tagovailoa said he did not consider retirement following the Bills matchup and has spoken with “several” neurologists about his recovery. Players rarely land on IR due to concussions, illustrating the concern the Dolphins have for their centerpiece player. Week 8 marks Tagovailoa’s first chance to come back, and signs are pointing to a return — one that would give Miami a way out of its Tua-less quagmire and invite more concerns about his long-term health.

Adding to potential worries about the left-hander’s future, he will not wear a Guardian Cap upon returning. A handful of players have exercised the right to wear the practice caps during games, which the NFL began permitting this year. Most have resisted, and Tua is now among the majority despite his history with concussions.

Mike McDaniel said (via ESPN.com’s Marcel Louis-Jacques) the call to move Tagovailoa to IR came at the advice of medical personnel. That alone should trip alarms, but we heard early during the fifth-year passer’s recovery a return was expected this season. The Dolphins have a significant issue on their hands, with the offense’s struggles in the starter’s absence — to the point the team has ground to make up for a playoff return — persisting regardless of which backup option the team used. Balancing this with Tagovailoa’s long-term health will be a line McDaniel and Co. will need to continue walking.

Tagovailoa said he spent time throwing during his IR stay, indicating (via NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe) he has done so for around a month. That would cover most of the time he has been out. The recently extended passer admitted frustration with being placed on IR, and SI.com’s Albert Breer expects him to return Sunday.

Retirement would have largely scuttled the massive extension Tagovailoa signed in July. In order to stay on track to secure the money from his four-year, $212.4MM extension ($167.2MM split between full and injury guarantees), the Alabama alum will need to keep playing. A retirement after passing a Dolphins physical would change the game, and it does not appear that will be on the table for the now-highly paid QB.

Of course, the Dolphins will be navigating concerns about Tua protection for the foreseeable future — perhaps for his entire Miami stay. This calls into question the team’s decision to make their starter part of the NFL’s $50MM-AAV club. Then again, Tagovailoa has run McDaniel’s offense effectively for two seasons. The Dolphins redeploying their starter will stand to reignite an offense that has slunk to last place in scoring and 22nd in total offense. Miami ranked second in scoring and led the league in yardage during the 2023 season, one in which Tua played 17 games and placed himself in position for the lucrative payday.

OCTOBER 21: When speaking to the media on Monday, McDaniel confirmed that Tagovailoa will return to practice this week. His 21-day activation will therefore be opened shortly, and with full medical clearance the Pro Bowler will be in position to return for Miami’s next game.

OCTOBER 19: 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,

As he continues to recover from his latest concussion, Tua Tagovailoa faces an unclear return timeline. When addressing the situation on Monday, though, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel expressed for the first time his expectation the team’s franchise quarterback will return this year.

“I do expect to see him playing football in 2024,” McDaniel said (via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques). “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.”

Indeed, Tagovailoa is not eligible to suit up until Week 8 at the earliest since he is on injured reserve. A return at that point has been raised as a possibility, although McDaniel added Tagovailoa will continue meeting with concussion experts this over the coming days. It is not known at this point if the 26-year-old will return to practice next week, the first point at which he will be able to do so.

Still, Tagovailoa has made positive strides in his recovery, leading to optimism he will be healthy and able to play at some point later in the campaign. Getting the Pro Bowler back in the fold at any time will mark a notable boost to Miami’s offense, a unit which has struggled in his absence. Former seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson and later Tyler Huntley (added off the Ravens’ practice squad) have guided the Dolphins to low-scoring outputs since Tagovailoa went down. The Dolphins currently sit at 2-3 on the year with a league-worst average of 12 points per game.

McDaniel confirmed Huntley will remain atop the depth chart for the time being, and coming off the team’s bye he could face increased expectations regarding his level of play in an offense he is still acclimating to. How Tagovailoa fares over immediate future will be critical, though, as the Dolphins approach the point at which he could return to practice. If all goes well, he should be back on the field before the end of the campaign..

The Dolphins produced another underwhelming offensive output on Monday while trying to find a temporary replacement under center for Tua Tagovailoa. A return target for the team’s franchise passer appears to be in place, though.

Tagovailoa continues to sit out while on injured reserve. Miami moved him to IR shortly after the Week 2 concussion which sidelined him from the contest and led to renewed questions about his playing future. The 26-year-old does not intend to retire, and his attention has remained focused on recovering in full to avoid any setbacks during the 2024 season. The Dolphins have one more game until their bye week, and Tagovailoa could be in the fold shortly after that point.

The 2023 Pro Bowler has a “real possibility” of returning in time for Week 8, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday night (h/t Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). The Dolphins have a matchup against the Patriots in Week 5 before their bye and then a contest against the Colts. Week 8 will see Miami take on Arizona in a matchup which will no doubt be critical to the team’s efforts to make a postseason run. Neither Skylar Thompson nor Tyler Huntley have managed to lead the Dolphins to a strong offensive showing in their respective starts.

Tagovailoa’s return is therefore highly anticipated. The Alabama product has made progress in his recovery, and the team has remained confident he will be back in the fold at some point in 2024. Huntley was signed off the Ravens’ practice squad, but no other QB moves are being considered. Tagovailoa’s IR stint guaranteed at least a four-week absence, a recovery timeline necessary for his brain to heal in full (as opposed to simply a lack of concussion symptoms showing), as Jackson details.

Tagovailoa has suffered at least four concussions in the last five years – one of which dates back to his college tenure – so a cautious approach on the team’s part would come as no surprise. With the Dolphins sitting at 1-3 on the year, though, having the former No. 5 pick back in the fold would be a welcomed sight as they attempt to rebound on offense. Miami ranks last in the NFL in scoring and 24th in total yardage after lopsided losses to the Seahawks and Titans with Thompson and Huntley under center.

Miami also has Tim Boyle as a stopgap option at the quarterback spot, but either Thompson (if healthy) or Huntley will likely get the nod for the team’s next two games. After that, it will be interesting to see if Tagovailoa is activated.

Tua Tagovailoa remains on injured reserve, but signs still point to him being available later in the 2024 season. Miami’s franchise quarterback has been with the team while recovering from his latest concussion, while the Dolphins do not appear to be seeking out further additions under center.

Skylar Thompson served as the starting quarterback in Week 3, a game in which the Dolphins were beaten handily by the Seahawks. Tagovailoa traveled with the team for that cross-country contest, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted on a Rich Eisen Show appearance Tagovailoa has received clearance to perform all regular activities short of playing (video link). That is an positive sign of his progress while the 26-year-old attempts to return to action.

Miami quickly made a move in the wake of Tagovailoa’s Week 2 concussion, signing Tyler Huntley off the Ravens’ practice squad. The former UDFA eyed a Dolphins agreement once Tagovailoa went down, and he could get the nod for Week 4 as Thompson deals with a rib injury. Huntley, Thompson and Tim Boyle represent Miami’s options as things stand, and Pelissero confirms no contact has been made with the Broncos or Steelers to gauge the availability of Zach Wilson or Russell Wilson.

With the Dolphins remaining confident in their incumbent signal-callers for the time being, attention will remain focused on Tagovailoa’s recovery timeline. Last year’s passing leader cannot be activated until at least Week 8, and the team’s decision to move him to IR is a sign of the cautious approach being taken with him. If Tagovailoa manages to avoid setbacks with respect to concussion symptoms over the coming weeks, he will be positioned to resume practicing ahead of a return to the playing field.

With Miami sitting at 1-2 on the year, it remains to be seen if the team will be in contention for a postseason berth by the time Tagovailoa is available to be activated. His recovery process seems to be in a good place for the time being, however, which is an encouraging development for team and player.

As he deals with his fourth diagnosed concussion in the last five years (counting his final collegiate season), Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is set to meet with neurologists within the next couple of days, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 2023 Pro Bowler is naturally trying to collect as much information as possible before deciding on his playing future, but as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports, Tagovailoa has no plans to retire (video link).

Of course, Tagovailoa will go through the league’s concussion protocol, a process that was modified as a result of his previous head injuries in 2022. As Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports notes, the protocol will be the same for Tagovailoa as it is for all other players, although the southpaw passer is one of just a few players – and the only quarterback – who has entered the protocol three separate times in the last five years (Jones also notes that, at the time of his latest injury, Tagovailoa was wearing the helmet that the league and union agree is currently the best at minimizing the severity of impacts to the head).

If Tagovailoa clears the protocol, he will have an important decision to make, one which will have a tremendous impact on his financial future. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the four-year, $212.4MM extension that Miami authorized for Tagovailoa at the end of July does not include any concussion-related provisions or carve-outs for either the player or the team, despite the unfortunate history here. 

Of the $212.4MM total value of Tagovailoa’s new contract, roughly $167MM is guaranteed for injury. $43MM of that figure has already been paid out, so if Tagovailoa is cleared to play but chooses to retire – as noted above, he presently has no intention of doing so – he would forfeit the remaining $124MM, absent some sort of settlement with the Dolphins (h/t Spotrac). The ‘Fins could also seek to recover paid but unearned signing bonus money, which would amount to $8.4MM per year through 2028 and roughly $466K for each game left in 2024 after he is cleared (via Florio). 

Luckily, both Rapoport and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hear that Tagovailoa will not be forced into retirement. But if for some reason he does not receive medical clearance, then the team would still need to pay him the $124MM in remaining injury guarantees. While the contract itself does not include any special language regarding concussions, the Dolphins did take out an insurance policy that would cover up to $49.3MM of that $124MM figure, as Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com notes.

Needless to say, the primary concern here is Tagovailoa’s long-term health, though the financial component of the situation cannot be ignored. At this time, there is no timeframe for a resolution, with head coach Mike McDaniel saying he is not focused on his quarterback’s return to the field. 

“You’re talking about his career — his career is his,” McDaniel said. “I just wish that people would for a second hear what I’m saying, that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him. So, I’m going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care that that should be the last thing on your mind.”