Tim Ryan
After a promising start to the season that included a stunning comeback against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, the Miami Dolphins have been losers of three straight. An obvious reason for that has been the absence of starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ever since he was ruled out in Week 4, as he was under concussion protocol and finally cleared over the weekend.
In that time, despite not playing, there’s been no shortage of all things Tagovailoa coupled with endless debate over player safety, with concussions obviously being a prominently heated topic. A Dolphins’ medical consultant has since been fired for making several mistakes, and the NFL implemented new concussion protocols going into Week 5 as a direct result of hits Tua has taken and, thus, the way they were handled.
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Tua Tagovailoa is expected to start in Week 7 against Pittsburgh Steelers
But finally, at long last, there is some reason to celebrate for Dolphins fans, with a little caution, of course. According to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network, assuming everything goes well this week with Tagovailoa practicing as the team’s starter, he will, in fact, be starting once again for this Miami team that so desperately needs him back. The 24-year-old QB will be doing so under the lights for Week 7 in an NBC Sunday Night Football matchup against the Steelers, who have suddenly shown some life.
The NFL sure loves itself some drama, and boy did schedule-makers hit the lottery on this one. So it’ll be interesting to see how closely Tagovailoa will be monitored, especially since it will be a featured standalone game with all eyeballs focused on his each and every move. One can only imagine the reaction from the always candid Cris Collinsworth the very second the Dolphins quarterback takes a few hits.
That’s not just a possibility that’s a stark reality with players like Cam Heyward lurking and hunting all night long.
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