An update on the injury to Tagovailoa’s throwing hand that limited his practice reps
Brian Flores said that Tua Tagovailoa, who showed up on Wednesday’s injury report as limited with an issue on his throwing hand, “got banged up a little bit” but is not concerned at this point that he will miss the New York Jets game.
“He’s a tough kid,” Flores said. “He’s going to do everything he can from a treatment standpoint. We’ll see. I don’t think this is something we’re too too worried about. We’re going to continue to treat it.”
When asked if Flores was at all worried Tagovailoa — who has started the past four games for the Miami Dolphins — won’t play Sunday due to the thumb injury, he replied:
“No, I don’t think we’re at that point yet. He’s getting treatment, rehabbing, we’ll see how this goes. It’s sore. but he’s a tough kid. He’s played through some stuff before. We’re not at that point yet. We’re going to take this one day at a time. .... We all have to be ready to be adjust and be flexible and have contingency plans. .... [But] we’re not at that point.”
Flores added: “We’ll see how he feels today, how he practices today. We’ll have a better feel this afternoon.”
Flores declined to confirm NFL Network’s report from Wednesday night that Tagovailoa “jammed his left thumb on a helmet in practice” Wednesday.
This is the third different injury that’s landed Tagovailoa on the injury report in 11 weeks. At the beginning of the season, he was still receiving treatment for the hip injury that ended his college career, and last week he dealt with a foot issue.
If Tagovailoa’s thumb issue worsens and he cannot play, Ryan Fitzpatrick will make his seventh start of the season Sunday. Flores benched Tagovailoa for Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter of last week’s game against the Broncos due to performance.
