Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa clears concussion protocol

The last obstacle has been overcome. Tua Tagovailoa will be in the starting eleven the Miami Dolphins when they face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8.

Head coach Mike McDaniel said before Friday’s practice that Tagovailoa cleared concussion protocol after going through two practices this week without any issues.

Those were the last steps Tagovailoa had to take in the return to play protocol established by the NFL.

Tua followed the NFL’s five-step Return to Participation Protocol, including an examination and clearance by an Independent Neurological Consultant.

After practice Thursday, Tua was examined by the Independent Neurological Consultant and was cleared to play in the game against Arizona.

As he progressed through the Return to Participation Protocol, Tagovailoa received care from top medical experts across the country. Those experts spoke candidly with Tagovailoa about his history, and no doctor recommended that he retire from the game, according to McDaniel.

Tua’s decision to return to the game after being discharged was a decision he made with his doctors and family.

The final step for the Dolphins will be to move him to the 53-man roster, a move that should be made on Saturday, at which time the team will make another move to make room for him. That other one will likely involve another quarterback, whether it’s putting Tyler Huntley on injured reserve for the shoulder injury he suffered in the Week 7 loss against the Indianapolis Colts or releasing veteran Tim Boyle.

Tagovailoa has missed the last four games due to his concussion in the Week 2 loss against the Buffalo Bills, his third diagnosed concussion in the last three seasons.

The Dolphins have gone 1-3 in Tagovailoa’s absence, defeating the New England Patriots but losing to Seattle, Tennessee, the Titans and Indianapolis. using three other quarterbacks.

This was the longest absence of the season for Tagovailoa, who missed three consecutive games in 2021 and then two in 2022.

In his two starts this season, Tagovailoa completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 483 yards with two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 78.9 passer rating. He had a 300-yard game in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars when he completed 80 yards to Tyreek Hill and 63 yards to Jaylen Waddle.

McDaniel’s announcement came after he refused to say last week when Tagovailoa would return to practice and did so again after the 16-10 loss against the Colts, saying he wanted the focus to be on the players who participated in the game.

“Everything is the same,” McDaniel said before Friday’s practice. “There’s been nothing negative. Everything’s been positive every day. And then, yeah, you’d be right that I’m focused on the Indianapolis Colts, who we’re playing in 48 hours.”

McDaniel made his most definitive statement about Tua earlier this week when he anticipated his quarterback would return to play in the 2024 season. following his third diagnosed concussion in the Week 2 loss against the Buffalo Bills.

Combined with McDaniel providing nothing but positive updates since Tagovailoa was injured and the quarterback joining his teammates on road trips to Seattle and New England, it’s been easy to connect the dots and suggest that Tagovailoa’s return is would occur immediately when he is eligible to come off the disabled list.

McDaniel made it clear last week that he was not going to question the decision to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve, keeping him out for a minimum of four games.

“So when you have a schedule, like that week, you have to make a decision, you wait as long as you can, and then that decision is driven by medical experts and then, in conjunction with communication from the entire team and obviously Tua, Yes, when medical experts on a schedule that is not ideal for anyone, say, the best thing would be with the information they had at that time to do, I’m happy with unknown (result),” McDaniel said. “Because the idea is that people, especially in the business of having experience, don’t ask doctors for advice on deciding plays, so I’m not going to replace a middle class where… .as if that’s not very smart.

“So once that’s determined, when you make that decision that’s based on information and support, driven by medical experts, it’s easy; there’s really no question or even an assessment of whether we should have done it, whether we should have or “We shouldn’t have done it.” We should have, because of medical expertise. So you take the time to use the time, and I think Tua has done a great job of making something out of a situation that’s obviously not ideal. “You can’t choose what you go through, but you can choose how you handle things.”

McDaniel said of Tua: “And he’s been incredibly diligent. He’s been a leader while doing it, and the right thing for the Dolphins to do regarding the medical aspects of the players is based on medical expertise, without a doubt.”