Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa to injured reserve, will miss at least four games

The 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.”

The NFL said last week through a spokesman that it will review the latest allegations of sexual misconduct made against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, adding that it would not put him on paid administrative leave because there were no criminal charges and the league’s review was just beginning.

But the league still could face a decision about whether to place Watson on paid leave, under the terms of its personal conduct policy, based on the findings of its investigation. Or it could continue to allow Watson to play as the review and disciplinary process unfold.

Attorney Anthony Buzbee said Friday that the woman who accused Watson of sexual assault and battery in a new lawsuit filed last week will meet with NFL representatives. Buzbee said he “can confirm we will be scheduling a meeting with the NFL and hope that can be accomplished in the next two weeks.”

The civil suit, filed in Harris County (Tex.) District Court, alleges Watson “roughly sexually assaulted” the woman in Texas in October 2020 after she invited him to dinner at her apartment. Watson was a member of the Houston Texans at the time. Watson and his attorney, Rusty Hardin, denied the allegations last week.

The conduct policy allows the league to put a player on the commissioner’s exempt list, keeping him off the field as the NFL disciplinary process plays out, if the player is formally charged with a felony or a crime of violence (including sexual assault by force) or in other specified circumstances. A player placed on the exempt list is paid by his team but prohibited from participating in practices or attending games.

Watson served an 11-game suspension and was fined $5 million in 2022 for violating the conduct policy, under a settlement reached by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, based on allegations in more than two dozen civil lawsuits filed by women accusing Watson of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions. Watson also has denied the previous allegations and has not been charged with a crime.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (2-0) — The champs made the necessary plays against the Bengals and, after struggling for stretches of the regular season last year, are off to a solid start. But the injuries to Marquise Brown and Isiah Pacheco reduce the number of playmakers available to Patrick Mahomes.
2. Houston Texans (2-0) — C.J. Stroud gave Caleb Williams a firsthand glance Sunday night at what a great young quarterback looks like. The Texans still can play better, though. They let Williams and the Bears hang around in that game before finally applying the finishing touches in the final minute.
3. Buffalo Bills (2-0) — Tagovailoa’s latest concussion overshadowed all else that occurred Thursday night at Miami. But the Bills controlled the game from start to finish in their lopsided triumph over the Dolphins and, at least so far, look like they remain the class of the AFC East and a legitimate challenger for conference supremacy.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0) — There’s little reason for Mike Tomlin to consider a switch to Russell Wilson as long as the Steelers win with Justin Fields. But if they falter, Tomlin might make a move, given his deference to Wilson throughout the quarterback competition. The matchup Sunday in Pittsburgh with the also-unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers is an interesting early test for each team.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0) — Beating the Washington Commanders in the opener may not have been a major feat, but winning Sunday over the Lions in Detroit was eye-catching. Baker Mayfield is the NFL’s second-rated passer, behind only the New Orleans Saints’ Derek Carr, and the Bucs should be able to make it a 3-0 start Sunday when they host the Broncos.

Some teams are running out of patience with their young quarterbacks. The Carolina Panthers benched Bryce Young, the No. 1 selection in last year’s draft, two games into his second season. Coach Dave Canales announced Monday that Andy Dalton will start Sunday at Las Vegas.

It’s worth wondering how many more unsightly mistakes the Titans’ first-year coach, Brian Callahan, will endure from Will Levis before making a move to backup Mason Rudolph.

The Titans are 0-2 and Levis has committed five turnovers. He had a giveaway about as egregious as they come with the Titans in field goal range during Sunday’s defeat to the New York Jets in Nashville, attempting an underhand toss as he was tumbling to the turf that resulted in a lost fumble. Callahan could be clearly seen yelling, “What the f--- are you doing?!” at Levis afterward. He said in his postgame news conference, “He’s a grown-up, and he knows better.”

The Jets suffered a significant loss during the win over the Titans when pass rusher Jermaine Johnson was taken from the field on a cart after suffering a torn Achilles’ tendon in his right leg. An MRI exam taken Monday confirmed the tear, Johnson said in a video posted to social media.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said following the 24-17 victory that he empathized, having suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in his left leg during last season’s opener.

“I knew he was hurt, carted off,” Rodgers said. “I was worried about him. Then I saw actually on the jumbotron, it said Achilles’. And my heart kind of dropped a little bit because I know what that’s all about. The good news is he’s very young, a young player. He’s going to have a long career. There’s a lot of great people out there to take care of him. … We briefly talked. I just hugged him and told him I love him, told him I was sorry. He’s handling it a lot better than I did so far. But, yeah, it’s going to be a big loss for us.”

The NFL’s new kickoff format continues to struggle to fulfill the part of its dual mandate dealing with increasing the rate of returns. About 27 percent of kickoffs were returned leaguewide in Week 2. The return rate for the season is about 30 percent. …

It’s unclear whether the NFL would consider fining Tagovailoa, under the circumstances, for violating the rule that prohibits a player — on either offense or defense — from lowering his head to initiate a forcible hit on an opponent. But Tagovailoa did appear to commit such a violation on the play on which he was injured, lowering his helmet into a jarring collision with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The rule was implemented because NFL leaders consider the technique unsafe for both the player delivering the blow and the one absorbing it. …

The three prized rookie quarterbacks starting for their teams — Chicago’s Caleb Williams, Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Denver’s Bo Nix — have totaled zero touchdown passes and six interceptions through Week 2. Their teams have a combined record of 2-4. Nix is the worst offender, with four interceptions during the Broncos’ 0-2 start. …

The Cincinnati Bengals are off to an 0-2 start for a third straight season. They have a 1-9 record in Weeks 1 and 2 since they drafted quarterback Joe Burrow in 2020.