The Miami Dolphins have placed QB Tua Tagovailoa on the Injured Reserve after he suffered another concussion in Thursday’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Tagovailoa suffered the injury by scrambling up the middle for a first down when he collided with Damar Hamlin. His body immediately went into a fencing response with his right fist clinching and going straight up in the air. The players knelt around him and trainers came out immediately.
Per NFL Rules, Tua must remain on the IR for at least four weeks. However, no timetable has been placed for the 26-year-old to return. It’s the third concussion that the young quarterback has had in two years. Tagovailoa plans to focus on his health before returning to the field.
Initially, Mike McDaniel stated that Tagovailoa wouldn’t be placed on the IR until more information was known. After further evaluations, the Dolphins placed him on the Injured Reserve early on Tuesday.
“We got to learn firsthand a nice reminder of how it only takes one play and what you think your depth is changes abruptly,” McDaniel said. “So that’s a move for moving forward to secure some depth in case of the unforeseen, which is timelines for us as it relates to Tua.”
The Dolphins will start third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson for the foreseeable future. Prior to this season, Thompson has only played in seven NFL games. All of those came in 2022. The Dolphins also added former Pro Bowl QB Tyler Huntley.
Factoring in the next four games, Tua has now missed 14 games due to injury. The earliest that he’ll be able to return is Week 8 against the Cardinals. According to Ian Rapoport, Tagovailoa has no plans to retire. Instead, he’ll be seeing several concussion specialists which he has begun doing already.
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