Dolphins put Tagovailoa on IR list
Return to menuThe Miami Dolphins placed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the injured reserve list Tuesday, a roster designation that means he will miss at least the team’s next four games while being evaluated for the concussion that he suffered during Thursday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Dolphins announced the move Tuesday afternoon. Tagovailoa will be eligible to return for the Dolphins’ game Oct. 27 against the Arizona Cardinals in Miami Gardens, Fla. It is not known when he might be cleared by doctors to return to football or when he might play again.
He will miss games Sunday at Seattle, Sept. 30 at home against the Tennessee Titans, Oct. 6 on the road against the New England Patriots and Oct. 20 at Indianapolis. The Dolphins do not play Oct. 13 while on their bye week.
Backup Skylar Thompson, who finished Thursday night’s loss to the Bills, takes over as the Dolphins’ starter. The team announced Tuesday that it had signed quarterback Tyler Huntley from the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad.
Tagovailoa, after suffering his third diagnosed concussion since 2022, is subject to the NFL’s step-by-step return-to-participation protocols that include evaluation and clearance by both the team medical staff and an independent neurological consultant.
The process puts return-to-play decisions entirely in the hands of medical experts, completely excluding teams’ coaches and football staffers from having any say in such matters. It unfolds without any predetermined timelines.
Outside observers — including former players, doctors not involved in Tagovailoa’s care and even Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce — have said they believe that Tagovailoa, 26, should give serious consideration to retirement.
The league-owned NFL Network reported Sunday that Tagovailoa has “no plans to retire.” Two people familiar with the deliberations cautioned over the weekend it’s too early for that to be definitive. Even if Tagovailoa’s initial inclination may be to continue playing, they said, the evaluation process must play out before a final decision is made.
Former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi, now an NFL analyst for ESPN, reflected on the air Sunday about his decision to resume playing after suffering a stroke in February 2005 at age 31 and how it relates to Tagovailoa.
“You see as many doctors as you possibly can, okay?” Bruschi said. “He’s being supported within the organization. I understand that. But what doctors will give you is gray, okay, and they will not give you black and white. I have personal experience from this. … They give you all this information. But what they eventually say is: ‘It’s something you have to live with. You have to live with the decision. … Can you live with it? Can your wife and family live with it?’ … So should he retire or should he play? I did both.”
Bruschi, who was treated for a heart defect, returned to play in October 2005 and then retired in 2009.
“To me, I was done,” Bruschi said of his initial thinking. “I went into Bill Belichick’s office and told him I was finished, and I left. I had finished. But you get better. … And I’m sure Tua’s going through these same thoughts also.”