Tua Tagovailoa practiced Wednesday for the first time since suffering a concussion in Week 2, and the Dolphins (2-4) are aiming for him to start Sunday against Arizona.
Tagovailoa still needs to progress through the final stages of the NFL's concussion protocol for that to happen, but he moved one step closer by returning to the practice field.
“I feel very good about how he attacked this whole process and how he came out of it to this day," coach Mike McDaniel said before Wednesday's practice. "And you hope for a couple days of good work so then you have no blips and you're cleared to play.”
Tagovailoa has met with numerous medical experts who specialize in brain and head injuries since being diagnosed with the third concussion of his NFL career on Sept. 12, after a collision with Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. The experts deemed it safe for him to return to football, McDaniel said Monday.
Tagovailoa said he would not wear a Guardian Cap — the protective soft-shell helmet cover that is optional for players to wear in games — saying it is a “personal choice.” Tagovailoa already wears a quarterback-specific helmet designed to help reduce head injuries.
Tagovailoa was concussed twice in 2022 — the latter of which briefly knocked him unconscious — and suffered a third hard hit to the head that was not diagnosed as a concussion.
The fifth-year quarterback pointed to those hits, which sparked widespread debates on his health and led to changes to the NFL's concussion protocol, as the reason for continued talks about whether he should keep playing football.
“I appreciate your concern, I really do,” Tagovailoa said. "I love this game, and I love it to the death of me, that’s it.”
Tagovailoa did not indicate that this latest concussion would completely change the way he approaches the game, but he said he has to “be smart.”
“My entire time playing football, I’ve been a competitor," Tagovailoa said, "and that is — or was — sort of my edge when I would run from high school, even in college I would do the same thing. But it’s a professional setting; this is the professional level, the best of the best, you just can't be doing that. So definitely got to stay more available for the team, for the organization, for our guys.”
Notes
The Dolphins signed veteran quarterback C.J. Beathard to their practice squad Wednesday, along with wide receiver Tarik Black, and released tight end Hayden Rucci from the practice squad. Quarterback Tyler Huntley, who started the past three games, is not expected to be available Sunday because of a shoulder injury. McDaniel said he would wait and see how Beathard, Tim Boyle and Skylar Thompson perform in practice before deciding on a backup.
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