The Miami Dolphins on Monday said a concussion will keep starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the sidelines for this week’s game.
Tagovailoa remains in the concussion protocol after being slammed to the turf in the Dolphins’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said there’s no timeline on his return. The Dolphins (3-1) visit the New York Jets (2-2) on Sunday.
“He’ll be out for this game against the Jets,” McDaniel said Monday.
Teddy Bridgewater will draw the start. The Dolphins signed QB Reid Sinnett to their practice squad.
McDaniel said Tagovailoa is spending time in the practice facility as he goes through the concussion protocol. He added that the quarterback’s MRI came back clean.
The Dolphins set off a firestorm when Tagovailoa was allowed back in the game in Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills. Since then, the doctor who cleared Tagovailoa to return to that game was fired by the NFL Players Association.
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said Friday that Tagovailoa was checked for concussion symptoms every day last week before an independent neurologist cleared him to take the field on Thursday night against the Bengals.
The 24-year-old quarterback hit his head on the turf while being sacked by Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupou. Tagovailoa remained on the turf for roughly 12 minutes before he was carted off the field on a stretcher and eventually taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center with a concussion and neck injury.
On Monday, McDaniel maintained his belief that all the protocols were followed by the team.
“I’m still very confident with how we did that,” McDaniel said.
And who has to sign off on Tagovailoa’s return?
“It’s not one person. It’s a collection of contributing factors,” said McDaniel, who was asked if a neurologist should have the final say.
“There are different working relationships that I can’t really attest to,” McDaniel said. “In this case, there were lines of agreement, really. I don’t have an opinion on whether that’s the best or worst case for every team.”
–Field Level Media