CINCINNATI — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel firmly defended the team’s decision to play quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the 27-15 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night that resulted in Tagovailoa getting carted away on a stretcher due to a concussion, among his head and neck injuries.
McDaniel was asked postgame if he would’ve done anything differently given what transpired with Tagovailoa, who officially entered Thursday questionable with back and ankle injuries.
“Absolutely not,” he replied swiftly and adamantly. “If I would have, that would be irresponsible in the first place, and I shouldn’t be in this position.
“I don’t believe an injury last [Sunday] made him fall the same way [Thursday]. I do not have any, like absolutely zero patience for — or will ever — put a player in a position for them to be in harm’s way. That is not what I’m about at all, and no outcome of a game would ever influence me being irresponsible as the head coach of a football team.”
McDaniel reasserted that Tagovailoa did not suffer a concussion or head injury when he exited Sunday’s win over the Buffalo Bills, four days prior to the Thursday loss at Paycor Stadium.
“Yeah, otherwise we would’ve reported him having a head injury,” McDaniel said. “That’s why the NFL has these protocols. Every single NFL game that is played, there’s an independent specialist that specializes in the specialty of brain matter.
“For me, as long as I’m coaching here, I’m not going to fudge that whole situation. If there is any sort of inclination that someone has a concussion, they go into concussion protocol, and it’s very strict. People don’t vary or stray. We don’t mess with that. We never have. And as long as I’m the head coach, that will never be an issue that you guys have to worry about.”
McDaniel told reporters Friday that Tagovailoa was receiving an MRI that afternoon. He said Tagovailoa told him he was dealing with headaches during the flight home from Cincinnati and the headaches lingered on Friday.
“He was honest about the fact that he had a headache, but his personality was definitely normal Tua,” McDaniel said. “Talking to him this morning, I think he’s still feeling some of those headaches.”
However, he said there was no timetable for when the Dolphins’ starter may return to the field.
“I talked to him today and reiterated the same thing because he was bringing up to me, ‘Man, I just hope I don’t miss X, Y or Z game,’ ” McDaniel said. “I was like, ‘Tua, let’s stop this right now. Don’t even think about a game. Let’s just think about doing everything the right way, to listen, to get opinions that you need and let’s worry about you and your head and being a healthy human being. We’ll worry about playing football later, but I don’t want to have that conversation now.’ ”
McDaniel also reaffirmed his belief that the team received the correct diagnosis on Sunday.
There has been an onslaught of outside skepticism based on the way Tagovailoa appeared woozy and stumbled Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium as he got up from a roughing-the-passer penalty when Bills linebacker Matt Milano shoved him on to his back. Tagovailoa hit the back of the head against the ground from the whiplash.
Initially said by the team to be a head injury, Tagovailoa cleared concussion protocol to return for the second half against Buffalo. Tagovailoa and McDaniel said after the Bills game that it was actually a back injury he suffered, one that originated from an earlier quarterback sneak and was intensified by the backward fall.
The NFL Players Association has started an investigation into how Tagovailoa’s injury was handled Sunday. NFLPA President JC Tretter wrote on Twitter, “We were all outraged by what we have seen the last several days and scared for the safety of one of our brothers.”
“What everyone saw both Sunday and last night were ‘no-go’ symptoms within our concussion protocols. The protocols exist to protect the player and that is why we initiated an investigation.
“Our job as the NFLPA is to take every possible measure to get the facts and hold those responsible accountable. We need to figure out how and why the decisions were made last Sunday to allow a player with a ‘no-go’ symptom back on the field. Until we have an objective and validated method of diagnosing brain injury, we have to do everything possible, including amending the protocols, to further reduce the potential of human error. A failure in medical judgment is a failure of the protocols when it comes to the well being of our players.
“We have come a long way over the past 15 years but the last week proves how far we have left to go.”
McDaniel said he understood “the optics ... and people’s concerns” over Tagovailoa’s injury and prognosis.
On Thursday in Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was spun down and driven to the turf on a sack by Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupou. He landed on his already-ailing back on the takedown, and the back of his head hit the ground violently.
Tagovailoa appeared to lie motionless as he was attended to on the field for several minutes before being taken away on the stretcher. He was on the ground with his hands up and his left index finger stuck in an awkward inward-pointing position.
Following the loss to the Bengals (2-2), McDaniel scoffed at questioning over what went into clearing Tagovailoa to play on Thursday night.
“What goes into every one of those decisions — that it starts with your medical staff but then there’s independent specialists that look into it, too,” he said as to the process. “There’s an entire protocol, and you’re talking to the player, as well. Probably, I don’t know, five or six, different layers in a process in decision-making, like you do with all players.”
He was asked what specifically gave the Dolphins (3-1) belief Tagovailoa should play on Thursday.
“Him getting cleared by people,” he replied. “Your standard operating procedure with all players in every single game.”
McDaniel stood by that reasoning on Friday, saying the Dolphins’ quarterback had been cleared of any head injury during the Bills game on Sunday, so there was no consideration of whether he may hit his head and suffer a head injury on Thursday night.
“He was evaluated and then cleared by several layers of medical professionals who — I don’t pretend to be one — but those people, the collection of them, cleared him of any head injury whatsoever,” McDaniel said. “And he had a back and ankle issue. So in terms of deciding whether or not to play a guy on a game on a Thursday night game, I’m concerned about his lower back and his ankle and putting them in harm’s way. I have 100 percent conviction in our process.”
McDaniel said he “wouldn’t have been able to live with himself” if he noticed signs of a head injury and still put Tagovailoa on the field Thursday, but in his conversations with the third-year quarterback between Sunday’s win and Thursday’s loss, McDaniel said he was acting normally.
“I’m in steady communication with this guy, day in, day out,” McDaniel said. “We’re talking about high-level football conversations about progressions and defenses and recalling stuff from two weeks previous and him having to reiterate a 15-word play call. All things, absolutely no signs, there was no medical indication from all resources that there was anything regarding his head. If there would have been, of course, if there would have been anything lingering with his head, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I prematurely put someone out there and put them in harm’s way.”
The Dolphins, after the short week to play Cincinnati, have this weekend off before facing the New York Jets in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9.
