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Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN
MIAMI – About 12 hours after Tua Tagovailoa was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel asked fans and members of the media to let his quarterback focus on his health before discussing his career.
Speaking to local media on Friday morning, McDaniel said he “understands” people’s concerns about Tagovailoa’s health, but stressed that putting pressure and anxiety on the quarterback to make a decision about retirement is not in his best interest at this time.
“I would be wrong if I even sniff that subject, and it’s more in the line of actually caring about humans,” McDaniel said. “You’re talking about his career – his career is his … I just want people to listen to what I have to say, that bringing the future is not in the best interest of him. So, I’m going to ask for help from all the right people -really care if you should be the last thing on your mind because you’re not, what do you think?”
Tagovailoa suffered a hit to the head during Friday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills when he dropped his shoulder to Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s helmet made forceful contact with Hamlin’s arm, prompting a fencing response — a term used to describe a person’s hand into an unnatural position — as the stunned crowd at Hard Rock Stadium booed. Tagovailoa remained on the field for a few minutes, but was able to walk off the field and into the locker room under his own power.
He almost immediately sat out the rest of the game with a concussion.
McDaniel said Tagovailoa was still asleep when he tried to call her about an hour before speaking to the media at 10 a.m. ET and had yet to undergo further tests and evaluations. When asked about the severity of Tagovailoa’s injury, McDaniel reiterated that he is not focused on his return to participation timeline.
“I don’t look at the injury through a lens like, ‘Okay, so what does this mean for him to play?'” McDaniel said. “I’m not trying to see, okay, how serious is this relative to those in the past? I know the important fact that he’s healthy every day… the best I can do is not try to evaluate what it means from a football point of view .”
Tagovailoa was diagnosed with two concussions during the 2022 season and suffered a third blow to the head that prompted the NFL to change its concussion protocol, particularly in how it is reported and evaluated.
He’s now back to the NFL’s participation protocol, though McDaniel said his message to Tagovailoa is that everyone “considers him to be a dad” this weekend, and he’ll find out more later.
The Dolphins don’t play again for 10 days when they face the Seattle Seahawks in their first road game of the season. McDaniel declined to speculate on whether Tagovailoa would be placed on injured reserve but said the team has begun the process of bringing in another quarterback.
McDaniel suggested that third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson will be the Dolphins’ starter without a healthy Tagovailoa – who said it is a safe bet not to play against the Seahawks, although his opinion will not be the driving force in the decision.
“Only two very important opinions are the absolute power for what they do in that position: Tua and the doctor,” McDaniel said. “If I’m a betting man, I think that those two guys – I don’t know how they will play in the next game. I don’t see, but who am I to know or judge? I think it’s a fair assessment to be prepared to have three quarterbacks on the roster for the game next, that we need to add one to that game.
“But again, I have no idea, and I don’t want to all of a sudden start making decisions. I don’t even see myself involved in the most important part of that.
Many former NFL players expressed on social media that Tagovailoa should retire, including Dez Bryant, Ben Watson and Tony Gonzalez.
While he wouldn’t tell anyone specifically, McDaniel explained why he won’t voice his opinion on Tagovailoa’s future.
“If I answer that question, I’ll be like, ‘Okay, here’s my thoughts on his career,'” he said. “And he reads — if he agrees or disagrees, I just make him worse … I don’t think it’s appropriate just out of care and respect. think about that type of conversation when you’re talking about other people’s careers, I think it’s only fair that his career should be managed by him.
