Miami Dolphins News & Rumors

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..