Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not advised to retire by multiple neurologists after suffering his third concussion since 2022, according to ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques.

"A team source told ESPN that none of the neurologists Tagovailoa consulted recommended retirement, nor did they express concern he was at greater risk of additional injury after giving his brain time to heal," Louis-Jacques wrote on Friday. "Tagovailoa said Monday that he never considered retirement this time around."

The signal-caller missed four games due to a concussion in Week 2, but he's set to start in the Dolphins' clash with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday after clearing protocol.

Tagovailoa was previously diagnosed with concussions on two separate occasions during his 2022 campaign, including one in Week 16 that caused him to miss the remainder of Miami's season.

Louis-Jacques noted that the Dolphins didn't "explicitly" shut him down for the rest of the year at the time, but they never discussed a return timeline with the 26-year-old in order to keep his focus on resting instead of a quick progression through protocol.

Tagovailoa told reporters on Monday that he'd been absent of any concussion symptoms since Sept. 13, but Miami still placed him on injured reserve to allow his brain to heal.

"What I do know is that I think the team did what was best in the interest of me," Tagovailoa said, per Louis-Jacques. "Knowing that I'm a competitor, and given what the doctors have told me that having a substantial amount of time to rest and recover would have been good for me, I think they did what was best in terms of protecting myself from myself."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided insight into the quarterback's five-step return to action.

Tagovailoa's presence should help a Dolphins offense that has struggled mightily in his absence, averaging just 10 points per game to go along with a 1-3 record in the four contests that he missed.

He should be able to excel against a Cardinals secondary that has allowed 236.9 passing yards each week this season, the seventh-worst mark in the NFL.

As the Pro Bowl quarterback nears his return to the field, it doesn't appear that retirement was a serious option as he progressed through concussion protocol.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban expressed concern about Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's long-term health ahead of his return from the third diagnosed concussion of his professional career.

"I'm concerned that I want Tua to be safe, and healthy, and not have a football career that's going to impact him down the road, number one," Saban said Friday on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show. "Number two is, I think organizationally this is a medical decision, this is not an organizational decision. People will look at him and say, why are they letting him play? I think the doctors make that decision. I think it's a medical decision.

"Then, for him, it becomes personal then, as to, I really want to play, I'm a competitor, I love playing, I want to play. So he has to make a decision, is the risk-reward from a medical standpoint worth it to you? And I think all those things are in play now. If he wants to play, which I've talked to him, and I know he wants to play, I know what kind of competitor he is, then I'm happy for him that he's having the opportunity to play. But I also pray for him that he doesn't have any issues."

Tagovailoa, who suffered his latest concussion in Week 2, cleared the NFL's concussion protocol on Friday. He is expected to start on Sunday during the Dolphins' Week 8 contest against the visiting Arizona Cardinals.

Clearing concussion protocol involved an examination from an outside neurological professional not affiliated with the NFL or the Dolphins, Tashan Reed and Amos Morale III reported for The Athletic.

Tagovailoa, who was placed on injured reserve five days after the Week 2 injury, told reporters on Monday he had been symptom-free since the day after he suffered the concussion and downplayed the long-term risks involved with suffering multiple brain injuries.

When asked by reporters how much risk he believed he was taking by returning to the field for Week 8, Tagovailoa responded, "Well, how much risk do we take when we get up in the morning to go drive to work? Get into a car crash, I don't know."

The Dolphins quarterback continued, per the team's transcript: "Everything I think takes risk. So to answer that question, every time we all suit up, we're all taking a risk that we could potentially get hurt, whether it's a concussion, a broken bone, anything. You get up off of the bed the wrong way, you potentially could risk you spraining your ankle. There's just risk in any and everything and I'm willing to play the odds, that's it."

Saban coached the quarterback at Alabama, where the two won a national championship in 2017. Tagovailoa was also diagnosed with a concussion during his third season with the Crimson Tide prior to entering the 2020 NFL draft.

The former Alabama coach said in an earlier appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that he had spoken with Tagovailoa "right after" the concussion.

"He's good. He's always positive and, you know, very enthusiastic... He really wants to play," Saban said on Oct. 11. "Whether he can ever play or get the opportunity to again, I guess that's a medical decision somebody has to make."

Once Tagovailoa received medical clearance to return to the field, only the quarterback himself could make the decision to keep him away from the game. Tagovailoa, who told reporters earlier this week that he had not considered retirement during his time on IR, is now set to return to the field on Sunday.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is officially back in the starting lineup.

Head coach Mike McDaniel announced on Friday that Tagovailoa has been cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol and will start against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

McDaniel previously announced on Monday that Tagovailoa was designated to return from injured reserve, but he still had to clear concussion protocol.

Tagovailoa had suffered a concussion in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills when he collided with safety Damar Hamlin. It was the third diagnosed concussion of the 26-year-old's career, the other two of which occurred during the 2022 season.

Tagovailoa told reporters that he had been symptom-free since the day after his concussion and that he wouldn't wear a protective guardian cap on his helmet when he returned to the field because of his personal choice.

The Dolphins suffered mightily in Tagovailoa's absence, losing three out of four games without him. The team averaged 11.7 points through six games, the lowest in the NFL and a massive drop from its average of 29.2 points during the 2023 season.

Before going down, Tagovailoa had thrown for 483 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 64.5 percent of his passes. The Dolphins (2-4) are hoping he will be back to his usual self to help turn their season around.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to practice this week, and his return—in theory—should help spark an offense that has grown stagnant and ineffective without him.

Wideout Tyreek Hill certainly seemed happy about the news on Wednesday while speaking with reporters, passing a message along to fantasy football managers in particular:

Fantasy football managers are aware of the huge difference Tagovailoa's presence has for players like Hill and fellow wideout Jaylen Waddle.

In the two games Tagovailoa appeared in this season, Hill caught 10 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, averaging 16.3 fantasy points per game in PPR formats. In four games without him, Hill has notched 14 receptions for 140 yards and no scores, averaging a lowly 7.6 fantasy points per game.

It's even worse for Waddle.

In two games with Tua, Waddle posted nine catches for 150 yards and averaged 12.3 fantasy points per contest in PPR formats. Without him, Waddle had just 13 catches for 119 yards in four games, averaging just 6.2 fantasy points per week.

Even the running game has suffered, as defenses didn't fear Tyler Huntley, Tim Boyle or Skylar Thompson and were able to stack the box. That trio also didn't find easy dump-off opportunities for De'Von Achane in the passing game.

The star running back averaged an impressive 26.2 fantasy points per week when Tagovailoa was healthy in PPR formats but has dropped to an average of 6.9 points per game without him.

The entire Miami offense has been a train wreck, and it has left the team's season on the brink, as the Dolphins are now just 2-4. Tagovailoa defended the quarterbacks who replaced him, but it's obvious the team simply doesn't execute at a high level when he goes down.

"Listen, I think it's really tough to ask any of our quarterbacks to come in to do the footwork that we've been doing for the past two years," he told reporters Monday. "To see fast guys running and seeing the space that's there and asking them to kind of process all of that. We looked at film, we were able to see what we missed and what we could've got better with, but it's a team sport. It shouldn't take one position for this whole thing to crumble, everybody needs to be on their Ps and Qs as well."

Maybe. But Hill, at the very least, is thrilled to see his starting quarterback return.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa practiced on Wednesday for the first time since suffering his third diagnosed concussion six weeks ago.

Tagovailoa's return included throwing passes to teammates during drills, per NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe.

Tagovailoa suffered a concussion on Sept. 12 during the Dolphins' Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

He has not yet been activated from the injured reserve, but head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday the team hopes the quarterback will be able to return for Week 8 against the visiting Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

He will still need to pass the NFL's concussion protocol before he is cleared to play against the Cardinals. The last stage before that clearance is participation in "non-contact football activity," per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques.

Tagovailoa told reporters earlier this week that he has not experienced concussion symptoms since Sept. 13, the day after the loss to the Bills, per the team's transcript.

He also said that he has been preparing "as if I was getting ready to play every game for every week" by practicing footwork and studying game plans even before returning to practice.

Tagovailoa said several times during Monday's media availability that he was willing to accept the concussion risks involved in returning to the field.

"How much risk do we take when we get up in the morning to go drive to work?" Tagovailoa asked reporters. "Get into a car crash, I don't know. Everything I think takes risk... There's just risk in any and everything and I'm willing to play the odds, that's it."

Tagovailoa will return without the Guardian Cap, the soft-shell covering players can wear over helmets that the NFL has reported is associated with reduced concussion risk. He is instead planning to wear a specialty quarterback helmet with a higher safety rating than a standard helmet with the cap over it, Louis-Jacques reported.

In six weeks without Tagovailoa, the Dolphins have gone 2-4 and scored a total of just 40 points. Should he return on Sunday he will likely be an immediate boost to the Miami offense.

Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill chose a curious day to be cryptic on social media.

Hill simply wrote "hm ." in a post on X on Wednesday morning:

That went up hours after NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Kansas City Chiefs are acquiring DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. Some fans naturally assumed Hill was reacting to the deal.

A reunion between the Chiefs and the eight-time Pro Bowler has been a topic of conversation given Kansas City and Miami's respective fortunes this season. The two-time reigning Super Bowl champions have lost multiple wideouts to injuries, while the Dolphins have struggled mightily since quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined due to a concussion.

A Hill trade was sensible in theory and stood to benefit both teams.

Appearing Monday on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN's Adam Schefter downplayed the likelihood of the Chiefs pulling off a trade of that magnitude, though. He also cited Hopkins as a possible target, saying it "would make a whole lot of sense" for the Titans to offload him.

Assuming Hill was ever under consideration by Kansas City, the overall cost to land him was probably too high for Brett Veach.

Based on their respective values, the Chiefs would've had to send better draft capital to the Dolphins than the conditional fifth-round pick it took to get Hopkins from the Titans.

Hopkins is also due to be a free agent in the offseason, while Hill carries a $31.2 million salary cap hit. Before too long, the 30-year-old will presumably push for a new contract, too, so he can secure one more big payout before he hits free agency in 2027.

As exciting as it was to consider a Chiefs offense with Hill and Patrick Mahomes together again, it never felt like a realistic outcome prior to the Nov. 5 trade deadline.

Despite a 2-4 start behind the worst offense in the NFL by points per game, the Miami Dolphins aren't motivated to trade Tyreek Hill during the season.

On the latest episode of the Scoop City podcast (starts at 28:50 mark), The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported the Dolphins are "not going" to move Hill before the trade deadline.

Hill had fun a few weeks ago trolling fans in the wake of Davante Adams asking the Las Vegas Raiders for a trade.

There has been no indication the Dolphins are looking to move on from Hill. They just signed him to a reworked three-year, $90 million deal in August that keeps him under contract through the 2026 season.

Miami's season has been so far thanks in large part to the absence of Tua Tagovailoa since Week 2 when he suffered a concussion against the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins have tried piecing the offense together with Tyler Huntley and Skylar Thompson starting at quarterback for the past four games.

Things haven't gone well with the offense scoring fewer than 20 points in five straight games, including Sunday's 16-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The Dolphins' 11.7 points per game are the fewest in the NFL and nearly 18 points worse than their 2023 average (29.2).

There is the potential for hope on the horizon in Miami. Head coach Mike McDaniel announced Tagovailoa will practice this week with the goal of playing on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Dolphins are only 1.5 games out of a playoff spot in the AFC with a 2-4 record. They have some winnable games coming up starting on Sunday against the Cardinals that could turn their season around if they can get the offense going.

Hill figures to be a much bigger part of the offense with Tagovailoa back under center. He only caught one pass for eight yards in Sunday's loss to the Colts. His 49.0 receiving yards per game is his lowest average since his rookie year in 2016 (37.1).

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Monday that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is being designated to return from injured reserve, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

However, Tagovailoa still needs to pass through concussion protocol, which would then allow him to play in Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.

NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe noted that McDaniel said medical experts "deemed it safe" for Tagovailoa to return to play, as Sunday's game will mark six weeks from when he suffered a concussion. McDaniel added that he will leave the decision on whether to wear a protective guardian cap on his helmet when he returns up to the signal-caller.

Tagovailoa addressed the situation with reporters on Monday:

Tagovailoa has been out since Week 2 after suffering a concussion following a collision with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The Dolphins then placed him on injured reserve, which meant that Tagovailoa would miss the next four games at minimum. It was the third diagnosed concussion of Tagovailoa's career after he suffered two during the 2022 season.

However, good news emerged on Sunday, October 20 with Tagovailoa expected to resume practicing and sights set on playing the following week (Oct. 27) versus the Arizona Cardinals, per Schefter.

That would obviously be a welcome sight for the Dolphins, who have struggled mightily without Tagovailoa, falling to last in the NFL in scoring at 11.7 points per game.

Last season, the left-hander completed 69.3 percent of his passes for an NFL-high 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns (14 interceptions). He earned Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career. Miami finished second in the NFL in scoring.

Miami has turned to a combination of Skylar Thompson, Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle to take snaps in Tagovailoa's absence in 2024.

The Dolphins have the skill-position players to be competitive, namely wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and running backs De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert. But Miami needs its leader out there in order to be a competitive team.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to resume practice next week and could be ready to play as soon as next Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The 26-year-old is still in concussion protocol and is following the NFL's return-to-play provisions.

With his extensive history of concussions, including two diagnoses in 2022, Tagovailoa's return to the NFL was once in question, but he is now fully focused on making his comeback.

Tagovailoa was seen in Pittsburgh visiting neurologists, while also consulting with previous doctors who have monitored him throughout his career. According to one source who commented on his future, "He's 100 percent playing," Schefter reported.

Since his Week 2 concussion against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa has stated that he feels fine and has not experienced some of the more severe side effects he had during previous concussions.

Tagovailoa will remain sidelined for the Dolphins on Sunday as they face the Indianapolis Colts on the road.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has missed the team's past three games due to a concussion, but he reportedly hasn't felt any ill effects over the past month.

According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Tagovailoa saw multiple specialists and underwent tests after being placed on injured reserve, but "he has not dealt with any lingering issues from the concussion and would play right now if he could."

The Dolphins placed Tagovailoa on the reserve/injured list on Tuesday, Sept. 17, five days after he suffered a concussion in a 31-10 defeat to the Buffalo Bills.

The injury happened after he collided head-first into the chest and upper arm of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who was attempting a tackle, after rushing for a first down late in the third quarter.

On Tuesday, Sept. 17, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reported that the Dolphins placed Tagovailoa on IR "in order to give him ample time to progress through the stages of concussion protocol and meet with outside neurologists." The IR placement sidelined Tagovailoa for a four-game minimum.

Garafolo also added that "the Dolphins are committed to placing no timeline on him as he works through a deliberate process and eventual return to play."

Tagovailoa has been diagnosed with three concussions during his time in Miami: one in September 2022 against the Cincinnati Bengals and one in December 2022 versus the Green Bay Packers.

There was also an incident in September 2022 in which Tagovailoa appeared dazed following a hit against the Buffalo Bills, per Alanis Thames of the Associated Press.

"In a September 2022 game against the Bills, he took a hit from linebacker Matt Milano, which caused him to slam to the ground. He appeared disoriented afterward and stumbled as he tried to get to his feet. He was cleared to return to that game and later said it was a back injury that caused the stumble. He was not diagnosed with a concussion."

Tagovailoa has unfortunately suffered other serious injuries. In November 2019, Tagovailoa suffered serious hip injuries (dislocation and a fractured posterior wall), a broken nose and a concussion after taking a hit from Mississippi State defenders. In September 2021 against the Bills, Tagovailoa suffered fractured ribs that kept him out for three games.

Tagovailoa has been a star over the past few years, notably leading the league in quarterback rating (105.5) and yards per attempt (8.9) in 2022 and passing yards (4,624) in 2023. He's also helped lead Miami to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. That marked the first time the Dolphins made the playoffs in two straight years since Miami earned postseason berths from 1997-2001.

Tua is eligible to be activated from IR following Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, but the team has yet to make an official announcement regarding whether it plans to immediately activate him.

Tyler Huntley is in line to start for the Dolphins again on Sunday, as they look to improve their record to 3-3.