Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa intends to resume his football career when both he and his doctors believe it is safe enough to do so.
That’s according to NFL Network, which reported early Sunday that Tagovailoa has no plans to retire.
The Latest on Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa has spent the weekend recovering from his fourth concussion (at least) in the last five years. But he’s also already met with brain injury specialists to gather information about what comes next, per the report.
Tagovailoa seems likely to miss multiple games as he recovers, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he didn’t return to the team until after the Dolphins’ Week 6 bye.
That would give him 38 days to recover. Brain experts say that the odds of recurrence are much higher when players return to the field too soon.
But there’s also science that suggests Tagovailoa would be safe to resume his career — if the proper protocols are followed.
For Tagovailoa to return to play this season, he would need to progress through a five-step process that ramps up from symptom-limited activity (i.e., rest) through full football activity/clearance.
Both team and independent doctors need to sign off on his return to play. And most importantly, Tagovailoa needs to be OK with it.
The Dolphins are determined not to put any timelines on Tagovailoa’s return.
“Quite literally, questioning timelines; that gives forth anxiety,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “Trying to meet them, trying to assess what this means for playing. This is heavy stuff that you have to be diligent and deliberate and coaching up Tua, ‘Hey, your job is to be a dad and to communicate daily’ – and we’ll have daily assessments with experts in the field and handle that.
“And that is the only thing that matters because … he would be able to feel if I was trying to vibe out and diminishing what this was based upon some symptoms,” McDaniel added.
“So literally, I understand it completely, and it’s not like I would’ve thought any other way until I was in a position of finding out information of what’s best for players in this situation, but talking about or having any sort of assumptions or planning … like I have no idea and nor should I, and I don’t want to because I want him to be healthy.
“And the best way to be as healthy as fast as possible is to not focus on anything but being present; for him with [children] Ace and Maizy and [wife] Annah, and that’s it.”
With Tagovailoa indefinitely, Skylar Thompson will get the start against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3.
