Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has still not yet been cleared for football activity with Miami’s wild-card round playoff game against the Bills looming, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Tagovailoa, who has been in the league’s concussion protocol since Dec. 26, does not have an official timeline to return but McDaniel said he hopes to get further clarity on the 24-year-old’s status by Wednesday. McDaniel maintained that Tagovaialoa has not suffered any setbacks and remains in good spirits after missing the Dolphins’ final two regular-season games, but that Miami will continue to take the situation day by day.
"When he's cleared to practice, he will practice," McDaniel said. "Until then, I'm not doing anything."
Tagovailoa’s health has been a widely-discussed topic of conversation this season after he’s gone into concussion protocol on two separate occasions. The latest instance came following the Dolphins’ Week 16 loss to the Packers, in which the former No. 5 pick played the whole game before self-reporting concussion symptoms the following day.
After previously launching an investigation into Tagovailoa’s first concussion in early October, the NFL and NFLPA again looked into Miami’s handling of the quarterback’s health beginning on Dec. 28. Three days later, both parties announced the team did not violate the protocol and that Tagovailoa did not show symptoms during the game against Green Bay.
Tagovailoa sustained his first concussion of the season in early October after taking hits to the head in consecutive games, just five days apart. The NFL and NFLPA’s first investigation into Tagovailoa’s health later led the league to revamp its concussion protocol. Additionally, the probe led to the firing of the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in the QB’s first evaluation.
Though Tagovailoa was not a part of the team’s gameplan for the Dolphins’ Week 18 game against the Jets, Miami managed to scrape out an 11–6 win, which along with a Patriots loss, clinched the team a spot in the playoffs. Rookie Skylar Thompson started at quarterback for the Dolphins in the regular-season finale and snapped a five-game team losing streak.
Miami now faces a wild-card weekend showdown in Buffalo. The two AFC East teams split the regular-season series and will now play for a spot in the divisional round on Sunday. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. ET.
