The 2-3 Miami Dolphins have rapidly receded into the background of the NFL news cycle in recent weeks, but there is reason to hope for better days.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who currently is on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in Week 2, is expected to resume playing in 2024, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday. This marked the first time since Tagovailoa's concussion that McDaniel suggested he could return to the field this season.
"I think they've continued to be positive," McDaniel said of Tagovailoa's meetings with neurological experts. "There's still information that he's seeking this week, and as far as timelines go, I know that he's not playing this week, and I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we'll let the process continue since we still have time before you could even entertain anything. We'll make sure that he's diligent this week and assess after that."
Tagovailoa's most recent concussion -- sustained in Miami's loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 12 -- was his first since he was diasgnosed with two during the 2022 season. Because of his history with head injuries, this isn't merely a matter of clearing concussion protocol before returning to action.
Tagovailoa has sought more attention and guidance from medical experts and was given time to weigh his short- and long-term future before getting back on a football field, which McDaniel has attempted to keep at the forefront of all discussions regarding the Dolphins' franchise quarterback.
"I think the biggest thing that I've learned is, for me as a head coach, it's absolutely imperative that I control the controllables," McDaniel said. "It was so fast from him getting hurt to immediately going into, all right, 'What's the best thing for you, Tua? Where are you at?' and allowing the process, to really not get ahead of it. I didn't really allow myself any sort of contemplation moments on whether he would or wouldn't. I was so, so concerned with where he was at and in his career, for family and everything that is true to be his, and trying to operate on a 'next man up' mentality from that.
"It is exciting that I do believe he'll play football this year. I never went down that rabbit hole of if he would or wouldn't, just because I've learned through circumstance how that's the wrong question to be asking. The right questions are completely, 100 percent toward the human being and the player as a result."
Even in a quarterback-driven league, it's been startling to witness the Dolphins' downfall without Tagovailoa. The Dolphins have devolved into one of the NFL's least-explosive offenses, entering Week 6 with the 25th-ranked passing offense. They didn't hold a lead during a game until Week 5, and own the NFL's worst scoring offense at 12 points per game.
On the bright side, they earned their first win without Tagovailoa last week, taking down the New England Patriots in a 15-10 victory. But it doesn't take much game tape to understand how difficult things are for the Dolphins without their franchise quarterback.
Perhaps they'll get him back before long -- Tagovailoa is eligible to return to practice on Oct. 23. But as McDaniel said Monday, don't let the anticipation build to a breaking point just yet. The medical process remains the highest priority.
