After the 2022 season, Tua Tagovailoa considered retiring after suffering two concussions and possibly a third head injury. The Dolphins quarterback’s recent concussion led to calls to reconsider that approach, but that hasn’t happened.
Tagovailoa indicated he was symptom-free the day after his concussion in Week 2, and said he was not considering retirement after the Bills game and had spoken to “several” neurologists about his recovery. Players rarely land on IR with concussions, illustrating the concerns the Dolphins have with their core players. Week 8 will be Tagovailoa’s first chance to return, but he’s showing signs of returning — giving Miami a way out of the quagmire without Tua and raising further concerns about his long-term health. Probably.
Adding to potential concerns about the left-hander’s future, he will not wear a Guardian cap upon his return. Some players exercised their right to wear practice caps during games, which the NFL began allowing this year. Most have resisted, and Tua is now among the majority despite his history of concussions.
Mike McDaniel said (via Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com) that the call to move Tagovailoa to IR was based on the advice of medical personnel. That alone should set off alarm bells, but we heard early in the fifth-year passer’s recovery that he is expected to return this season. The Dolphins are in serious trouble, and the offense’s struggles without a starter continue to the point that the team has the wherewithal to make up for a return to the playoffs, regardless of which backup option the team uses. are. Balancing this with Tagovailoa’s long-term health will be the line McDaniel and others must continue to walk.
Tagovailoa said he spent time throwing while on IR, suggesting (via Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com) that he had been pitching for about a month. That would cover most of the time he was out. The recently extended passer admitted he was unhappy with being placed on IR, and SI.com’s Albert Breer expects him to return on Sunday.
If Tagovailoa were to retire, the huge contract extension Tagovailoa signed in July would all but go to waste. To secure a four-year, $212.4 million guaranteed extension ($167.2 million split between full guarantee and injury guarantee), the Alabama product will need to keep playing. Things would change if he retired after passing the Dolphins’ physical, but that doesn’t seem to be on the table for the currently highly paid QB.
Of course, the Dolphins will likely have to work through concerns over Tua’s protection for the foreseeable future, possibly for the entirety of his stay in Miami. This calls into question the team’s decision to make a starter part of the NFL’s $50 million AAV club. Again, Tagovailoa has effectively run McDaniel’s offense for two seasons. By reshuffling their starters, the Dolphins will likely be able to rekindle their offensive power, which has been at the bottom of the league in scoring and 22nd in total offensive power. Miami ranked second in scoring and led the league in yards in 2023, but Tua played in 17 games that season, putting him in position to earn a big salary.
