Cole Pepper
The Miami Dolphins travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS) without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve this week after sustaining another concussion. It was at least the third concussion of his professional career.
Tagovailoa will be sidelined for at least four weeks, meaning he will miss games against the Seahawks, Titans, Patriots, and Colts at a minimum.
In 2022, Tagovailoa missed five games with concussions.
Before Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve, Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniel urged him to be the “quarterback of his family,” recommending that Tagovailoa put his health before football.
McDaniel said on Thursday that Tagovailoa would travel with the team to Seattle.
Without Tagovailoa, the Dolphins (1-1) will turn to Skylar Thompson at quarterback for the time being. Thompson entered Sunday’s game against the Bills with 4:24 left in the third quarter after Tagovailoa’s injury and completed eight of 14 pass attempts but did not lead the Dolphins to any scores.
This week, the Dolphins signed quarterback Tyler Huntley off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad. He will serve as the backup.
Thompson started two games for the Dolphins in 2022 when Tagovailoa was out with a concussion. He threw one touchdown pass and three interceptions as Miami went 1-1 with Thompson starting. Huntley will need time to learn the Miami offense. He started nine games over four seasons with the Ravens, filling in when Lamar Jackson was injured. Huntley threw eight touchdown passes and seven interceptions as Baltimore went 3-6 with him as the starter.
Traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast can be difficult for teams going on the road. In six previous meetings between the two teams in Seattle, the Dolphins have lost three, including their last two visits to the Pacific Northwest.
Miami entered the season hoping to win the AFC East, but the injury to Tagovailoa could put a crimp in those plans. Buffalo is off to a 2-0 start and will host 0-2 Jacksonville on Monday Night Football.
Tagovailoa isn’t the only Dolphin dealing with an injury. Running back Raheem Mostert did not play against Buffalo last week due to a chest injury. He is not expected to play against Seattle. Offensive lineman Terron Armstead will return to the field Sunday after missing the season’s first two games with a torn rotator cuff.
As for Tagovailoa’s future, numerous former players have called for him to retire.
Tagovailoa and the Dolphins agreed to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension, with $167 million guaranteed, that made him one of the highest-paid players in NFL history. If he retires, he would still keep the $43 million signing bonus that came with the deal. If he retires because of a medical condition, he could keep the rest of the guaranteed money, $124 million.
2 comments
Joel L Friedlander
September 22, 2024 at 11:18 am
In a far older sport called boxing there is a tradition that if a fighter cannot effectively defend himself any more during a fight his cornermen “Throw in the towel,” and end the fight. That frequently saves the fighters life. Perhaps given what we now know about head injuries in football the same custom should apply.
Ken Christiansen
September 22, 2024 at 4:52 pm
The fact that he could walk away and still receive a healthy amount of money should be an important consideration. I have many successful ex-player who transferred that grit and determination into other successful careers afterwards. I only say these things because I care for his future health.