by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has yet to be cleared for football activity with Miami’s wild-card playoff game against the Bills looming, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Tagovailoa, who has been in the league’s concussion protocol since Dec. 26, has not an official timeline to return but McDaniel said he hopes to get further clarity on the 24-year-old’s status by Wednesday. McDaniel argued that Tagovaialoa hasn’t suffered any setbacks and remains in good spirits after missing the Dolphins’ final two games of the regular season, but that Miami will continue to take the situation day by day.
“When he’s allowed to practice, he’ll practice,” McDaniel said. “Until then, I’m not doing anything.”
Tagovailoa’s health has been a much-discussed topic of conversation this season after entering the concussion protocol on two separate occasions. The latest instance came after the Dolphins’ Week 16 loss to the Packers, in which the former No. 5 tight end played the entire game before self-reporting concussion symptoms the next day.
After previously launching an investigation into Tagovailoa’s first concussion in early October, the NFL and NFLPA looked again at Miami’s handling of the quarterback’s health beginning on December 28. Three days later, both parties announced that the team did not violate protocol and that Tagovailoa did. did not show symptoms during the game against Green Bay.
Tagovailoa suffered his first concussion of the season in early October after taking hits to the head in consecutive games, just five days apart. The NFL and NFLPA’s initial investigation into Tagovailoa’s health later led the league to renew its concussion protocol. In addition, the probe led to the firing of the non-affiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in QB’s initial evaluation.
Although Tagovailoa was not part of the team’s game plan for the Dolphins’ Week 18 game against the Jets, Miami was able to scrape out an 11–6 win, which, along with a Patriots loss, clinched the team a playoff berth. Rookie Skylar Thompson started at quarterback for the Dolphins in the regular-season finale and snapped a five-game losing streak.
Miami now faces a wild-card showdown in Buffalo. The two AFC East teams split the regular season and will now play for a spot in the divisional round on Sunday. Kickoff will be at 1:00 PM ET.
