Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not able to play in the Week 17 win over the Browns due to a hip injury and head coach Mike McDaniel does not know if Tagovailoa will be able to play in the regular-season finale.
McDaniel told reporters after Sunday’s game in Cleveland that Tagovailoa’s hip injury, initially suffered in the Week 15 loss to Houston, was made worse by a hit during last week’s win over the 49ers. While Tagovailoa had improved throughout the practice week before the San Francisco game, the quarterback did not respond in the same way leading up to the matchup against the Browns.
So, McDaniel said, this was about giving Tagovailoa’s body the right time to heal.
“From a medical perspective, [it was] not an option for him to play,” McDaniel said.
“Ultimately, he absolutely wanted to play,” McDaniel added. “It wasn’t a pain tolerance thing — because that’s not in the equation for him. He wasn’t physically — the main thing is that he not only was super susceptible to a much more significant injury, based upon that injury if he were to fall in harm’s way. But a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury and his inability, as we forecasted, to protect himself and his teammates within the pocket, doing the things he normally has to do.”
It appears Tagovailoa needs only time for his injury to heal, as McDaniel said “surgery is not currently on the table.” McDaniel also noted that the injury is “not at all” related to Tagovailoa’s previous hip injury suffered when he was at Alabama.
Still, McDaniel has “no idea” whether or not Tagovailoa will be able to play in Week 18 against the Jets.
“[W]e had reasonable, hopeful expectations for his body and he absolutely had the same expectations. So, to even begin to forecast this next week, I think, is difficult because we were waiting until the last hour or so,” McDaniel said. “It was not ideal in any way, shape, or form to have a game like this — not have him available. … We’ll be hopeful for that as we progress. But I can’t even lean one way or the other really. So, we’ll see what the world has in store for us.”
Playing in Tagovailoa’s stead, Tyler Huntley finished 22-of-26 for 225 yards with a touchdown. He rushed for 52 yards on seven carries with a TD as well.
In 11 starts this year, Tagovailoa has completed 73 percent of his passes for 2,867 for 19 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
