Is Tua Tagovailoa Playing Tonight vs. Houston Texans?

After sitting out of the Miami Dolphins‘ preseason opener, will Tua Tagovailoa play tonight against the Houston Texans?

Miami coach Mike McDaniel again kept his cards close to his chest in the leadup to Dolphins Preseason Game 2, but history and common sense suggests Tagovailoa might get at least a handful of snaps at NRG Stadium.

Is Tua Tagovailoa Playing in the Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans Preseason Game?

UPDATE (2:43 p.m.): Tagovailoa is on track to play Saturday against the Texans. He was not among the Dolphins’ list of players not expected to play.

The following players are not expected to play in this afternoon's preseason game. pic.twitter.com/Th7uH1Enx7

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) August 19, 2023

Tagovailoa has not taken a live-action snap since Christmas 2022, when he suffered his second diagnosed concussion — an injury that ultimately ended his season.

This offseason has been about not just getting Tagovailoa healthy, but keeping him that way. Certainly, that played a factor in McDaniel keeping Tua out of the Dolphins’ game against the Falcons last Friday.

Mike McDaniel on Tua’s preseason availability pic.twitter.com/1sdNUbBkLn

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) August 17, 2023

But with the regular season just three weeks off — and McDaniel inclined to get Tagovailoa some in-game work before it begins — time is running short. The Dolphins play Houston Saturday and then face Jacksonville next weekend in the team’s exhibition finale.

When asked Thursday if he would be comfortable going into the regular season without Tagovailoa playing a single exhibition snap, McDaniel replied:

“I would probably hesitate to say that. All joking aside, I would expect to see him in the preseason. However, you know me. I’m a wild card. I do think game reps are valuable depending on where you’re at in your journey for preseason setting up the regular season. So I would expect him to play. How much and when, will be determined after today for this next preseason game and will probably be around the same time before Jacksonville as well.”

Miami Dolphins vs. Houston Texans

• TV Channel: NFL Network, CBS 4 Miami, ABC 13 Houston
• Start Time: 4 p.m.
• Live Stream Options: MiamiDolphins.com, NFL+ and other platforms

Oddsmakers are signaling that even if Tagovailoa does play Saturday, they don’t expect him to have a major impact on the outcome of the game. Per FanDuel, the Texans as of Saturday morning were 2.5-point favorites, with a -145 moneyline. The over-under was 39.5.

If Tagovailoa does not play in Preseason Week 2, it’s not because he doesn’t want to. In fact, it’s just the opposite — and he presumably has told McDaniel just that.

“I mean, I wanted to work last week, too,” Tua said Wednesday. “So it’s really up to Mike. No matter which way you spin it for him, [his response is] ‘I got you. But no. Makes sense. I understand what you’re saying to me. But no.’”

Regardless of what McDaniel decides to do with Tua, the game will largely be decided by the two quarterbacks vying to be Tagovailoa’s backup: Mike White and Skylar Thompson.

White started the Falcons game, but McDaniel has suggested that he wants to give Thompson work with the second string before deciding on the team’s QB2.

“I would expect players to play in the game,” McDaniel said Thursday morning. “Who those players are and when and why – again, it’s exhausting for you guys. It’s exhausting for me, being principled.

“But today is the second day of joint practice. I think I’ll be able to make some decisions this afternoon regarding who, what, where and why. But case in point, what if two guys exceed expectations in the recovery process and they’re live action today? That changes things.

“What if we have the worst system of hydration known to man and 14 guys cramp? You have to be loose and versatile. I’ll expect to know more after this practice. With those two specifically, I will say that I expect to see them a little bit more today in today’s practice as the competition continues.”