After suffering another harrowing concussion earlier this season that prompted questions about whether he should continue playing football, the Dolphins could have Tua Tagovailoa back at quarterback next weekend.
Tagovailoa will reportedly start practicing Wednesday and is expected to play in Week 8 against the Cardinals as long as he doesn’t encounter any setbacks, according to The Athletic.
That captures the most concrete estimation of a return date yet for the $212.4 million signal-caller, who exited Miami’s Week 2 loss to the Bills with the injury.
But Tagovailoa reportedly hasn’t dealt with any further issues after the concussion, and he would “play right now if he could,” the outlet added.
That, though, didn’t always appear to be the case after Tagovailoa collided with Bills safety Damar Hamlin late in the third quarter on Sept. 12 and went into the fencing position on the field.
It was his fourth documented concussion — and third since joining the NFL — but in the aftermath of the injury, though, NFL Network reported that the 26-year-old didn’t plan to retire.
The Dolphins placed Tagovailoa on injured reserve, and earlier this week, with the four-game mark approaching Sunday, head coach Mike McDaniel reiterated that Tagovailoa would make a return at some point this season.
“As far as timelines go, I know he’s not playing this week,” McDaniel told reporters. “… I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we’ll let the process continue.”
The Dolphins’ offense desperately needs a jolt, too, with their season spiraling and starting to slip away before the midway point even arrives.
They managed to escape with a narrow win against the Patriots on Sunday, but they haven’t topped 15 points in a game since Week 1 — the last full game with Tagovailoa — and have managed just two touchdowns during that stretch.
Any expected stability at quarterback following Tagovailoa’s massive extension in the offseason — which now ranks as the fifth-largest contract at the position — evaporated with his injury, and Miami has since used Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley at quarterback, though they’ve only accumulated 556 passing yards despite having Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle at receiver.
So despite legitimate concerns that the Dolphins wouldn’t have Tagovailoa back this season, and despite suggestions that he should retire and avoid risking yet another concussion, the Dolphins will have some normalcy on offense — perhaps as early as next week.
Huntley will make his third start for Miami when they travel to Indianapolis and face the Colts in Week 7.