Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel addressed the team’s decision to put quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve at the start of his press conference on Wednesday.
Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in last Thursday’s loss to the Bills and the team moved him to injured reserve on Tuesday. McDaniel said Monday that the team was still considering its options and that the call was ultimately made after “an accumulation of different information” led them to rule Tagovailoa out for at least the next four games.
The Dolphins’ bye week falls in that span, so Week Eight will be the earliest possible return date for the quarterback and McDaniel focused on the positives of Tagovailoa not having to worry about being cleared to play until that point.
“The great thing about IR is, for a month’s time, there’s no timelines,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said he thinks it is “empowering” for Tagovailoa to be totally focused on his recovery in the coming weeks and that the quarterback did not fight the team about the decision. McDaniel said he thinks Tagovailoa’s focus on “getting healthy” is a sign that he is “a true leader” paying attention to the right things as he moves past last week’s injury.
