Miami Dolphins midfielder Tagovailoa suffered a concussion when he hit his head on the pitch last Thursday against Cincinnatiand on Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel said that Tagovailoa will miss Miami’s Week 5 game against New York Jets.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa had a headache Thursday night and Friday morning. The team is still awaiting results from the MRI, which McDaniel said was taken in addition to “extra precautions” on CT scans and X-rays taken the night before.
McDaniel previously said he doesn’t have a timetable for when Tagovailoa could return, and it appears the case is still going.
“I’m not even really thinking about the timetable or anything to do with him as a player right now,” McDaniel said last week. “It’s all about Tassel.”
The 24-year-old QB posted a message on Twitter Friday afternoon thanking everyone for their support in the aftermath of the head injury.
“I am feeling much better and focused on my recovery, so I can return to the field with my teammates,” the statement read.
Tagovailoa was fired by Bengali solve defense Josh Topou end of the first half of Thursday. In the play, he clumsily turns around and is thrown onto the field. Once on the ground, Tagovailoa appears to show a swordfight reaction, with his fingers frozen in front of his face.
He remained for more than seven minutes before being loaded onto a backboard and stretcher off the field. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for evaluation.
Dolphins later said he was conscious and had movement in all of his limbs. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday night and flew back to Miami with the team.
McDaniel said Tagovailoa was socializing with teammates on the flight home. He sat next to McDaniel and talked to him about the game.
“His personality is the normal Tassel,” added McDaniel.
It’s unclear what’s next for Tagovailoa, whose breakout season was interrupted by a dreaded injury two weeks after he threw his career-high six touchdowns in Week 2 with Baltimore.
It’s another setback in the previous NFL career Alabama midfielder.
The Dolphins, in the midst of a 2020 rebuild, drafted Tagovailoa #1 overall becoming a franchise-changing piece after a college career that included a 2018 national championship.
But when that didn’t happen as quickly as Miami predicted, questions were raised about whether to stick with the young midfielder or go in a different direction.
Tagovailoa seems to have answered those questions in the first three weeks of the season, effectively using the weapons Miami surrounded him with during the season, including the star collector Tireek Hillto lead the Dolphins to a 3-0 record before Thursday’s game.
Tagovailoa has faced injuries at various points in his career, including a right hip dislocation in 2019 as Alabama’s starting quarterback.
Last Sunday against BuffaloTagovailoa received a hit from the Bills lót pawn Matt Milano the end of the first half and seemed to head to the field. He tripped as he got up and was immediately taken to the dressing room, where he was assessed as having a concussion. He returned to the game early in the third quarter and did not participate in the concussion protocol the following week, despite questions about why he was allowed back into the game.
McDaniel reiterated Friday that Tagovailoa was multi-layered during that game by medical professionals and said he did not suffer a head injury.
“My job as a coach is here for the players. I take that very seriously,” McDaniel said. “And no one else in the building has strayed from that.”
He added: “There are no medical signs from all resources that suggest anything to do with the head. Of course if there was, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had brought someone soon. out there.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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