The Miami Dolphins were idle on Sunday as they enjoyed a much-needed bye week for a team that’s gotten out to a 2-3 start. Tua Tagovailoa made two starts, but he wasn’t able to finish the second one after suffering the fourth known concussion of his football career.
He understandably hasn’t played since and is currently on injured reserve. Technically, Tagovailoa will be eligible to be activated back to the roster in Week 8 since that will be four weeks since he was placed on injured reserve. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel did provide a Tagovailoa injury update, but he didn’t make any indication that his star QB would be ready to return to the lineup for Week 8.
Related: 2024 NFL QB Rankings
Miami Dolphins expect Tua Tagovailoa to return in 2024, but they don’t know when
The Miami Dolphins return to play on Sunday with an away game against the Indianapolis Colts, but Tua Tagovailoa will miss his fourth game of the season. Miami hasn’t announced a quarterback change, so the assumption is Tyler Huntley will be making his third start after getting a 15-10 win over the Patriots in Week 5.
Yet, how long the Dolphins will be forced to start their backup remains to be seen. According to Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa will return to playing football this season, but his exact recovery timeline is still not known due to the tricky nature of head injuries.
“There’s still information that he’s seeking this week. As far as timelines go, I know he’s not playing this week and I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before we could even entertain anything.”
Mike McDaniel on Tua Tagovailoa
Mike McDaniel added Tua Tagovailoa’s conversations with experts have been positive and remain ongoing.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 14, 2024
Tua suffered his most recent concussion 1 month ago on September 12. No set return date but earliest Tua can play in a game is October 27 vs. Arizona Cardinals, 6 weeks later.
Tagovailoa will first be eligible to practice again on Oct. 23, but whether that’s enough time for him to be in the lineup for Week 8’s matchup against the Cardinals remains to be seen. The Dolphins have gone 1-2 without their Pro Bowl QB and are surely eager to get him back in the lineup at the appropriate time.
Related: Deion Sanders suggests he wants Miami Dolphins to draft Shedeur Sanders