Tua Tagovailoa will not be on the sidelines this weekend at MetLife stadium.
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed on Friday that his quarterback is still in concussion protocol and will not be traveling with the team to New York for their game against the Jets.
He is “diligently going through the process” after his scary concussion last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, and has started seeing “several outside specialists.”
“We’ll just take it from there, but happy that he’s, you know, you get to see him every day,” McDaniel said, via ESPN.
“It’s nice when I walk down the hallway and I hear, ‘What up, beast?’ which is, for whatever reason, he calls me beast all the time. I don’t think I give off the beast vibe, but we’ll just take it day by day from there.”
It’s not clear when Tagovailoa will return to the field for the Dolphins, though McDaniel said they do not plan to put him on injured reserve. Teddy Bridgewater will start at quarterback in his absence.
Tagovailoa went down with a terrifying head injury in their loss to the Bengals last week after being sacked. His helmet hit the ground, and he remained down for several minutes with his fingers locked in what appeared to be a fencing response before he was stretchered off and taken to a local hospital.
He was later released and flew home with the team that night to Miami, and has been in concussion protocol ever since.
That injury came a week after he appeared to go down with a concussion against the Buffalo Bills, though the team later called it a back injury.
The NFLPA has since fired the independent neurotrauma consultant who examined Tagovailoa against the Bills, and sparked a move to change the league’s concussion protocols. At least 12 players were removed last Sunday alone due to concussion protocols, too.
When Tagovailoa returns is still anybody’s guess. Based on the backlash the Dolphins and the league have received since his injuries, however, it’s safe to assume they won’t be rushing anything.
Until then, it’s Bridgewater’s time in Miami.
