Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said last week he hadn’t planned on checking on the progress of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the concussion protocol until the NFL team’s bye week.
The Dolphins’ bye week started on Monday, so McDaniel was asked for an update on Tagovailoa at his afternoon press conference.
McDaniel described the former Alabama All-American’s progress as “so far, so good.”
“There’s been nothing negative thus far, no,” McDaniel said. “Nothing negative thus far, but we’re still in the process. We don’t rush that process, and we don’t try to do anything that negatively impacts that, so I’ll stay within the guidelines that I’ve built for myself.”
Tagovailoa left the Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 12 with a concussion. The quarterback’s injury caused heightened concern because he had sustained two concussions during the 2022 season that caused him to miss five games.
Miami placed Tagovailoa on injured reserve on Sept. 17, forcing the quarterback to the sideline for at least four games. The earliest that Tagovailoa could play again would be Oct. 27 against the Arizona Cardinals.
“The way that will look is there’s some expert consultation that he has scheduled for this week,” McDaniel said, “and then we’ll address – the final stages of protocol won’t be achieved until we bring him back off IR and that first practice is had. So until then, we’re just communicating, and everything has been so far, so good.”
To return, Tagovailoa will have to complete the NFL’s concussion protocol, which includes being cleared by the team doctor and an independent neurologist at the end of a five-step process.
The return-to-participation protocol begins with symptom-limited activity. This is mainly a rest period, although limited stretching, balance activities and light aerobic activity are allowed. If a player does not experience an increase in his symptoms or show signs of a concussion on neurological examination, he can proceed to the next phase. That requirement holds step-by-step throughout the return process.
The second step is aerobic exercise, a graduated exercise program of stationary-bicycle or treadmill work, stretching and balance training. The player also can return to team meetings at this stage.
Upon demonstrating that he can participate in cardiovascular exercise without an increase in symptoms, the player goes to the third step, which is football-specific exercise. At this point, the player can engage in strength training and practice with the team in “sport-specific exercise” for no more than 30 minutes.
A player at this stage of return also will undergo neurocognitive testing. If that test shows he has not returned to his baseline readings, as interpreted by a neuropsychology consultant, the tests will be repeated until he does, typically every 48 hours. A player cannot return to contact activities until clearing the neurocognitive tests.
The fourth step in the return process is termed club-based, non-contact training drills. Those drills are position-specific. In Tagovailoa’s case, that would mean throwing the football. The player then could progress to participate in non-contact portions of his team’s practice.
The final step in the return to game action is the ability of the player to engage in full football activity. If the player can do that without setbacks, then the club physician can clear him to return. But first, the player must be examined by the independent neurological consultant assigned to the team to get the final clearance.
On Sunday, Miami scored its first touchdown since Tagovailoa left the game against Buffalo with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Fullback Alex Ingold scored on a 3-yard run with 4:24 left in fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots – exactly 13 quarters since Tagovailoa went out.
The touchdown lifted the Dolphins to a 15-10 victory after Miami had lost the previous two games 24-3 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 22 and 31-12 to the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 30.
Backup Skylar Thompson stepped in for Tagovailoa, but he sustained a rib injury against the Seahawks.
Signed off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad after Tagovailoa got hurt, Tyler “Snoop” Huntley has handled the quarterback work for the past two games. Against New England, Huntley completed 18-of-31 passes for 194 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and ran three times for 7 yards.
McDaniel said Huntley likely would remain the quarterback when Miami returns from its bye to play the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 20
“As it stands right now,” McDaniel said, “I feel very happy with the way Snoop, I thought, went from managing the offense, so to speak, his first outing to – I thought he was executing the offense, and that’s to his credit. So I feel pretty good about how fast he’s developed, and I would guess to forecast continuing that development process with the offense as the operation was better, but not as good as it could be. And you hope that with continuity, there’s an improvement in that.”
