MIAMI — Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel on Wednesday announced that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been diagnosed with a concussion, sustained during last Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers.
McDaniel also said the team is moving as if Teddy Bridgewater will start in Sunday’s road game against the New England Patriots.
The NFL and NFL Players Association have launched a joint review into the circumstances surrounding Tagovailoa’s latest concussion, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.
“We welcome that review, and as we have done previously, we will report the results in conjunction with the NFLPA,” he said.
It’s the second joint investigation this season into the handling of a suspected head injury for Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa sustained his first diagnosed concussion and was carted off the field on a stretcher in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 29, four days after hitting his head and remaining in a game against the Buffalo Bills, sparking a review into his injury.
The league and players’ union announced that the league’s step-by-step protocol was followed but the protocol was altered, adding a new “no-go” symptom, ataxia, which would have kept Tagovailoa out of the Bills game and likely sidelined him for the Bengals game. Ataxia is an abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue.
Tagovailoa, who has been diagnosed with a concussion for the second time this season, is inside the team’s practice facility but remains in concussion protocol, McDaniel said. McDaniel did not answer a question regarding where Tagovailoa stands in the five-step process to return to the field.
“He’s better than yesterday,” McDaniel said. “Beyond that, I feel like it’s weird to extrapolate beyond ‘good,’ which is what he tells me.”
McDaniel said after reviewing footage the morning after the game against the Packers, he saw “consistencies of things I study daily on tape, which provoked some direct questioning with a high degree of concern.” Tagovailoa, who threw three fourth-quarter interceptions in the 26-20 loss, reported symptoms on Monday.
“We questioned him ... and once we get some information back, we’re like, you need to go see the doctor,” McDaniel said. “... it was just there were some things that caused us to really prod and as a result, we felt like he needed to see medical professionals.”
McDaniel declined to answer whether he would hold out Tagovailoa for an extra week as a precaution or shut him down for the season, calling it “stuff that’s for medical professionals and Tua himself.
“I’ll do what the medical experts advise me to do and I’m quite certain they’re not going to advise me in the wrong direction when it has to do with his health in regards to that,” McDaniel said.
In an interview aired on NFL Network Tuesday night, the NFL’s chief medical officer said Tagovailoa did not exhibit symptoms of a concussion during the Dolphins’ game. Dr. Allen Sills said that regardless of the concussion history, each player enters the same five-step process to return to the field when placed in the league’s protocol.
“It’s tough, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “But he’s going to be around throughout the week, helping us out, getting us prepared.”
The Dolphins are 8-7 and in possession of the AFC’s third and final playoff spot. Miami can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Patriots on Sunday and a New York Jets loss to the Seattle Seahawks. But the team will likely do so with Bridgewater under center and rookie Skylar Thompson serving as the backup. The Dolphins are 0-2 in games that Tagovailoa has not started this season.
Bridgewater filled in for Tagovailoa when he was sidelined during the Bengals game, completing 14 of 23 passes for 193 yards, with one touchdown and one interception in the 27-15 loss. He started the following week against the New York Jets, a 40-17 defeat, but was removed from the game after just one offensive play; an independent certified athletic trainer (ATC) situated in an upstairs booth said he stumbled and showed signs of ataxia. With limited practice reps, Bridgewater served as the backup to Thompson the next week against the Minnesota Vikings but entered the game after Thompson injured his thumb in the second quarter. Bridgewater completed 23 of 34 passes for 329 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 24-16 loss.
Bridgewater missed five consecutive games because of a knee injury before returning to his backup role last Sunday. “I’m cool,” he said Wednesday. “One day at a time, still. [I’m] looking forward to this opportunity we have to get into the tournament.”
Said McDaniel: “This is why we thought it so vital to go after him in free agency,” McDaniel said. “This is why he’s done such a diligent job during the course of the season with his own injuries and such to be prepared for this opportunity. And I know the team is very excited. I feel very fortunate to have him and for him to get his opportunity that he’s totally prepared for.”
