The Dolphins are concerned about star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion in Thursday's loss to the Bills.
Tagovailoa missed five games in 2022 with multiple concussions, and this marks the third time he has been diagnosed with a concussion in his NFL career.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who kissed Tagovailoa on the side of his head as he left the game in the third quarter, explained he was more concerned about the quarterback as a person than about when he'd return to the field.
“I think it’s important to take every situation, every injury, seriously. [the mindset of]”We're going to handle this particular situation with this particular player.” McDaniel said, When asked about Tagovailoa's injury history and if that will factor into how he handles the quarterback situation following Miami's 31-10 loss to Buffalo.
“Every situation is different. I'm not worried about things that are out of my control. I'm only worried about the human being. Once he has the right information, he'll steer the ship. But it's a day-to-day health situation…especially when it comes to concussions.”
Tagovailoa is scheduled to undergo a medical examination at the Dolphins' facility on Friday.
The injury occurred when Tagovailoa was rushing for a first down on fourth down and four yards when he was tackled by Damar Hamlin.
“Right now it's just a matter of getting the proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time,” McDaniel said. “What the timeline is going to be is the furthest thing from my mind. We're just going to evaluate and worry about our teammates. We'll have more information tomorrow and take it one day at a time from there.”
This marks his fourth concussion diagnosis in the past five years, including his final season at Alabama in 2019.
“I'm devastated. I don't want to see him go through that,” said Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson, who was nearby when Tagovailoa went down Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium. “He has a history of that and I don't want to see it go through that. It's unfortunate that it was him that popped out of the pocket.”
“I wish we could have taken that play back for all of us. We could have done better.”
Tagovailoa remained on the ground for several minutes, surrounded by medical trainers and with nearby players kneeling.
He walked off the field to the locker room under his own power and was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott also expressed concerns about Tagovailoa after the game.
“It's so sad. That's the worst part of this game,” Allen said. “All I can do is send love and prayers to him and his family, and hopefully everybody does too, because he's going to need it. That's the worst part of this game.”
“The injury doesn't look good,” McDermott said.
“It's very sad … it's a very sad day,” Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins added.
Skylar Thompson replaced Tagovailoa to finish the game.
The 27-year-old is a former seventh-round pick by Miami in the 2022 NFL Draft and is the only active quarterback on the Dolphins' roster.
Tim Boyle, who started briefly for the Jets last season, is currently on the practice squad.
Tagovailoa, who signed a four-year contract extension worth $212.4 million during the offseason, said during an appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show” last month that his mother had told him to consider retirement.
Instead, the quarterback trained in jiu-jitsu to strengthen his neck and learn how to fall.
Former NFL stars have called for Tagovailoa to reconsider playing football for the sake of his long-term health following Thursday's horrific incident.
The Dolphins will face the Seahawks in Seattle in Week 3.
