(Miami) Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will take the first small step toward a return to football on Wednesday when he participates in Miami Dolphins training on a limited basis.
Posted at 12:58 p.m.
Head coach Mike McDaniel shared the news but said Tagovailoa won’t play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
“We miss his personality,” McDaniel acknowledged. “He’s a guy we depend on. »
McDaniel noted that there is a “scenario” that Tagovailoa could get the all-clear from doctors this week. In fact, the quarterback will rather move slowly in this process and will train alone.
“He literally hasn’t done anything on a football field in two weeks,” McDaniel remarked.
“It wouldn’t be fair to the player. It wouldn’t be fair to the team. I don’t feel comfortable putting him in that situation,” he added.
Tagovailoa is still on concussion protocol, as is backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who was injured in the Dolphins’ first offensive play last Sunday against the New York Jets.
Rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson will start Sunday against the Vikings. If Bridgewater is given the all-clear by doctors this week and leaves protocol, he will be the backup.
Against the Jets, Thompson completed 19 passes on 33 attempts for 166 yards. He did not throw a touchdown pass and was the victim of an interception.
Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in the first half of the Sept. 29 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He left the pitch on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital.
He had not practiced since that day and had not accompanied his teammates last Sunday for the game against the Jets in New York.
Four days before the game against the Bengals, Tagovailoa had been hit hard by a Buffalo Bills player and appeared disoriented when he got to his feet.
He had been escorted to the locker room and assessed for a possible concussion. After he was examined and found no sign of a head injury under NFL protocols, Tagovailoa returned to the field to start the third quarter.
This outcome prompted the Association of Players of the National Football League (AJLNF) to conduct an investigation into the management of his injury.
Last Saturday, the NFL and the AJLNF agreed to make changes to the league’s concussion protocols, adding to the list of symptoms that could prevent a player from returning to the field a statement relating to balance and stability.