Dolphins shocked, concerned in wake of Tua’s newest concussion. And more injury concerns
Dolphins teammates expressed shock and concern on Wednesday in the wake of confirmation that Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion — at least his second this season — on Sunday against Green Bay.
Teddy Bridgewater is expected to start in Tagovailoa’s place Sunday at New England.
“I was shocked,” running back Raheem Mostert said. “I totally didn’t realize Tua went through that. But it kind of made sense toward the end of the game [when Tagovailoa threw three fourth-quarter interceptions].
“I was asking myself in the huddle, ‘What are we doing? What’s going on?’ Not specifically him, but the whole aura of the offense in the huddle. Come to find out he did have a concussion. That kind of sucks.”
Receiver Jaylen Waddle, who has spent some time with Tagovailoa this week, said: “Tua’s doing good. He’s in good spirits. He’s around, helping us throughout the week, getting our minds right.”
Waddle said players accept concussion risks because “sadly, it’s part of our game. It’s physical. It’s a violent game. People going to war every week. [But] concussions are definitely something serious.”
“You just want him to be healthy and focus on himself right now,” tight end Mike Gesicki said.
Tight end Durham Smythe saw Tagovailoa this week and though he didn’t discuss the quarterback’s symptoms, it “seems like he’s in high spirits like he always is. It’s hard to really bring that guy down in terms of how he handles himself outside of football. [When they spoke], it seemed like he’s feeling pretty good.”
Smythe said he has had two concussions in the NFL and five or six overall and “some are [particularly] significant. Some I’ve felt fine the next day. Any time you have multiple [in one season], it’s something you want to pay attention to. Hopefully, it’s on the lesser side of the scale [for Tagovailoa]. He’ll be OK.”
Even after losing four in a row and losing their starting quarterback, “the vibe is good,” Tyreek Hill said. “Everything is good. We’ve got to finish games. Leaders got to make plays. All the guys you see with a C [captain] on their chest need to make a few more plays.”
Meanwhile, two prominent former players — Charles Woodson and Brandon Marshall — have questioned whether Tagovailoa should continue his career.
“It’s not worth it,” Marshall said on Paramount’s “Inside the NFL.”
“And this is coming from a guy who played the game tough…At the end of the day if that was my child, I’m saying ‘go sit down.’ If you sustain another concussion this year, your career should be over. It’s bigger than football.”
MORE INJURIES
Edge player Bradley Chubb (hand) and fullback Alec Ingold (thumb) were wearing casts resulting from injuries sustained in the Green Bay game, and coach Mike McDaniel indicated their status is in question for Sunday’s game at New England (1 p.m., CBS). Neither practiced.
Left tackle Terron Armstead (pectoral, knee, toe), Melvin Ingram (who is usually out on Wednesdays for rest), receiver River Cracraft (calf) and backup offensive lineman Eric Fisher (calf) also didn’t practice.
WADDLE THRIVING
During the offseason, Waddle said repeatedly that he wanted to improve his yards after the catch. And he has delivered on that promise, raising his average yards after catch from 4.6 (which ranked 60th in the league last season) to 7.2 this season.
Among players with at least 25 receptions, that 7.2 ranks second in the league behind the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel.
“Definitely that’s something we emphasized on and Mike [McDaniel] emphasized when he came in,” Waddle said. “Having that show with us is big.”
Waddle leads the league in yards per reception at 18.8 and is sixth in receiving yards at 1,260. His 67 receptions are tied for 28th.
Where is he most improved as a player?
“Knowledge of the game, going out there and knowing what I’m seeing and trusting what I’m seeing,” he said.
He said he wasn’t the least bit disappointed about being bypassed for the Pro Bowl.
Is it a goal to make one in his career? “Not really,” he said.
CHALLENGING ISSUE
McDaniel has said the Dolphins didn’t challenge Packers tight end’s Marcedes Lewis’ questionable 31-yard reception in the third quarter because he wasn’t encouraged by his staffers to challenge it.
Lewis seemed to trap the ball, but it was ruled a completion. Fox’s Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating, said the Dolphins should have challenged it.
So do the Dolphins need to change their system of evaluating replays?
“Guys that we’ve really relied upon all season had a,” McDaniel said, before suddenly changing his train of thought. “It’s a fast-paced decision that you get one shot at, and they collectively didn’t think that there was information enough to overturn it. Now you go and look back at it, I know there’s some assessment by people outside the league that have formerly been in the league. I’m aware of that. I’ll be interested to see what the league has to say…. I’m happy with the guys that we work with and I expect that process to continually get better.’
McDaniel is 0 for 3 on challenges this year and has bypassed challenging several questionable calls.
This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 1:58 PM.
