Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa returns to practice, Flores hopeful QB will play vs. Jaguars
QB1 is back.
One day after the Dolphins designated Tua Tagovailoa to return to practice after missing three games with fractured ribs, the second-year player was on the field at the Baptist Health Training Complex.
With the starting quarterback practicing days ahead of the team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday, head coach Brian Flores continues to be optimistic for Tagovailoa’s chances to play.
“We’re excited to get him back,” Flores said Wednesday before the team’s practice. ”I know he’s excited to get out there. We’ll take it one day at a time still, but we’re moving enough in the right direction that he’ll be out there. He’ll have an opportunity to practice and hopefully play in the game.”
In the approximately 15-minute period of practice open to the media, Tagovailoa, wearing the customary red non-contact jersey for quarterbacks, was with backup Jacoby Brissett and Reid Sinnett, going through an assortment of positional drills. He threw several passes during the period and didn’t appear to be in any noticeable discomfort. It was unclear, however, whether Tagovailoa was wearing a flak jacket, a piece of protective equipment that adds padding to the abdomen area. Weeks ago, after Tagovailoa sustained his injury in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, Flores said the team would look into him potentially wearing a flak jacket.
“If you ask him, he’s 100 percent, he’s fine,” Flores said. “So he’s not going to tell anybody any different. He’s made a lot of progress, but we know he’s dealing with something. He’s going to tough it out. That’s just the type of kid he is.”
While Tagovailoa was on injured reserve and unable to practice, he still participated in meetings and traveled with the team for road games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye said that while Tagovailoa was on the sidelines, he would still get the play calls and remained involved. Frye added that it was beneficial for Tagovailoa, allowing him to see the game differently from when he’s on the field.
“Tua’s a professional,” wide receiver Preston Williams said. “When Tua gets back, he’s always working on his craft. Even when he’s injured, just how he stays in tune with the team, watching film, being at practice, calling the plays up. At times he wasn’t even playing and he’d come over to me and be like, ‘Hey, what do you have right here? Just trying to make sure I know my stuff.’ Tua is professional. I felt good about him being back out there.”
Flores said that as far as the game-planning, there won’t be any change “conceptually” to what the team wants to do. With Brissett in the lineup, the Dolphins offense has struggled, going through long stretches without scoring drives. In a much smaller sample size under Tagovailoa, the offense, in fact, has been conceptually different, running more run-pass option, pistol formation and play action. Tagovailoa has also been more willing to throw the ball downfield, compared to Brissett, averaging more air yards per pass attempt.
Brissett, who entered for Tagovailoa in Week 2 and started the past three games, was limited Wednesday with a hamstring injury sustained against the Buccaneers. Brissett did not miss any snaps because of the injury, but Flores said Monday that Brissett was feeling sore.
Because Tagovailoa has not been officially added to the 53-man roster, he was not listed on the injury report so it’s unclear to what extent he participated Wednesday.
Neither Tagovailoa nor Brissett spoke to reporters after practice, but Flores said “my expectation is that both guys will be available and we’ve got to see how it goes really with both guys. That’s my expectation, but I think we’ve got to see how it goes.”
The Dolphins will head to London Thursday evening and Flores said that the long flight — air travel from Miami to London is about eight hours — and any discomfort that might come from it won’t be a factor for Tagovailoa and his ribs.
“This is really just let’s see how this goes at practice, can he make the throws, can he roll to his left, roll to his right, step up in the pocket,” he said. “The one thing we won’t know is taking a hit. We won’t know that until the game but we’ll try to do as much as we can to get a feel for what that will look like or what that will feel like without having a setback obviously. I’ll say this, he’s a tough kid. He’s a tough kid.”
