Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa surprisingly did not play against the Houston Texans Sunday after being limited in practice all week with a finger injury. ESPN first reported that Tua suffered a fracture in the middle finger of his throwing hand, and the Dolphins decided prior to the game to go with Jacoby Brissett as their starter.
Brissett completed 26 of 43 passes for 244 yards but turned the ball over 3 times in the Dolphins’ ugly 17-9 victory over the Houston Texans. Tua was active and could have played in an emergency situation, which raises the question — will he be healthy in time to play Thursday night against the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens?
The latest on Tua Tagovailoa’s finger injury
After the Dolphins’ first win in eight games, Brian Flores explained the Dolphins’ thinking on going with Brissett over Tua and heard questions about Tua’s availability for Thursday.
“He got hurt, banged it last week, finished the game in Buffalo,” Flores said Sunday afternoon. “Was limited all week. Look, he’s tough. He tried to go. It became more of a, ‘How far could he throw? Would he be able to make all the throws we needed to make?’ We thought it was enough to put him in a backup role, we felt like it was the best thing for the team. We would have had to change some things offensively if he had to go in, but Jacoby was able to finish the game.”
Will Tua be ready to play Thursday against the Ravens?
When asked specifically if Tua might be able to play against Baltimore in four days, Flores responded: “It’s still day to day. We’ve got to see how he’s doing. It’s a quick turnaround. Tomorrow, Tuesday. We knew he was limited. He was trying to go. We were basically testing it every day, including today, and just felt like he couldn’t do it and make all the throws that we needed to make. But he’s close.”
Injuries have kept Tua out of four of the Dolphins’ nine games this year. He spent three weeks on injured reserve after suffering fractured ribs in Week 2.
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This latest injury will raise fresh concerns about his durability. It’ll also make his task of hanging onto the Dolphins’ starting job that much harder.
Miami wanted to trade for Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, and they will probably try again in the offseason. Tua thought he would have a nine-game audition to keep his job. Now, it will be at most an eight-game tryout.