On Thursday night, the Miami Dolphins were at home in Week 2 to face the Buffalo Bills. Miami was coming off a narrow last-second win in Week 1 vs. the Jaguars. Starting QB Tua Tagovailoa was 23-37 for 338 yards and one passing touchdown in a 20-17 win.
Against the Bills in Week 2, Tagovailoa didn’t play to his potential. The 26-year-old QB was 17-25 passing for 145 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. That included a pic-six. Worst of all, Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in the third quarter and had to leave the game. Concussions are a serious issue that Tua has had to deal with in his professional career. There’s a chance he misses time and that’s why head coach Mike McDaniel said the team will use Skylar Thompson at QB. McDaniel said the team will look into adding another QB.
Skylar Thompson is the starting QB for Miami until we can get more news on Tua Tagovailoa
#Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel says the team is moving forward with Skylar Thompson, but will sign a QB for depth.
As for Tua Tagovailoa, “The best thing I can do is not assess what this means from a football standpoint.” He added: “Timelines give anxiety.”
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 13, 2024
With the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins selected QB Tua Tagovailoa out of Alabama. He’s played in 55 career games for Miami and has 53 starts. The 26-year-old is 33-20 in his 53 starts. That includes a loss in Week 2 to the Bills. However, Tagovailoa was unable to finish the game due to a concussion. In the third quarter, the QB stepped up in the pocket and scrambled for a first down. Instead of sliding feet first, Tua led with his head a took a big hit.
He immediately went to the ground and went into what is commonly known as the “fencing position.” This happens when someone has experienced an acceleration/deceleration injury of the brain. That is what happened to Tua on Thursday night and it’s not the first time we’ve seen this with him. Twice in 2022, Tagovailoa had two serious concussions, the final one cut his 2022 season short. Serious decisions need to be made by Tagovailoa about if he’ll continue to play in the NFL. For now, the team will move forward with Skylar Thompson at QB. He was a seventh-round pick in 2022 out of Kansas State. Thompson has started two postseason and one playoff game for the Dolphins in his career. Several tough decisions need to be made in Miami over the next few weeks.
