Dolphins' Mike McDaniel expects Tua Tagovailoa to play in 2024

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he expects quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to play again this season, although he didn't have a specific date for his return.

Tagovailoa spent the last four weeks on injured reserve due to a concussion he suffered on Sept. 12 and will not be eligible to return until the Dolphins' game against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8. McDaniel didn't commit to Tagovailoa returning when he becomes eligible next week, but for the first time since his injury, he expressed some optimism for the quarterback playing again this season.

“I expect to see him playing football in 2024,” McDaniel said Monday. “But where exactly that is – we will let the process continue because we still have time before he can do anything. We’ll make sure he’s diligent this week and do an assessment after that.”

Tagovailoa has a history of concussions since entering the league in 2020. During the 2022 season, he was diagnosed with two concussions and suffered a third blow to the head, causing the NFL to change its concussion reporting policy.

After he was diagnosed with a concussion on December 26, 2022, the Dolphins suspended him for the remainder of the season; After the season ended, he went through the league's protocol.

Although that doesn't appear to be the plan this time, McDaniel said he hasn't spent any time thinking about whether or not Tagovailoa would ever play again.

“I think the biggest thing I've learned as a head coach is that it's absolutely imperative for me to control the things that are controllable,” McDaniel said. “It happened so quickly that he got hurt and immediately asked, 'Okay, what's best for you, Tua?' I didn't really allow myself to think about whether he would do it or not. I was so worried about where he would be in his career and for his family.

“It's exciting that I believe he will play football this year – I've never grappled with the question of whether he would or not because I've learned through circumstances that that's the wrong question. The right one.” Therefore, the questions are 100 percent aimed at the person and the player.

Miami has used two quarterbacks in Tagovailoa's absence, Skylar Thompson and Tyler Huntley; The latter was signed from the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad and started his first game two weeks later after an injury to Thompson.

The team plans to continue starting Huntley until Tagovailoa returns. McDaniel said the team's bye in Week 6 allowed Huntley to “really get into the intricacies of the Dolphins' complex offense.”

Aside from Tagovailoa, McDaniel did not provide any information on whether any Dolphins player currently on injured reserve will return to action this week. He confirmed that linebacker Bradley Chubb was not expected to practice or play this week, although there were no setbacks in his return from a torn ACL he suffered on December 31 last year.

Running back De'Von Achane's status remains in question after he suffered a concussion in Miami's Week 5 win over the New England Patriots. He took part in the team's practice on Monday, but wore a red non-contact jersey. Safety Jevon Holland was also present at practice after breaking his hand in Week 5; McDaniel mentioned him week-to-week heading into the bye week, and his status for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts is unclear.