Tagovailoa’s concussions ‘not a concern’ as Dolphins try to build on playoff appearance

Dolphins general manager Chris Grier on Monday expressed confidence that the pair of concussions quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was diagnosed with this season won’t be an issue moving forward.

Grier also reiterated comments head coach Mike McDaniel made on Sunday, saying that Tagovailoa will be the team’s starting quarterback in 2023.

“Working with the doctors and consultants and everyone we’ve dealt with, we fully expect him back next year, 100 percent ready to go. ... He is our starting quarterback and will be next season,” Grier said during the team’s end-of-season news conference.

Tagovailoa, who led the NFL in passer rating in the regular season, missed five games this season because of concussions, including the final two of the regular season and Sunday’s season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round.

Grier said he has spoken with team doctors and consultants through the NFL Players Association that have told him Tagovailoa isn’t more prone to sustaining another concussion. Though concrete information on the susceptibility of getting a concussion varies, the risk of concussion in football is three to six times higher in players who have had a previous concussion, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

“We’re just going through and letting the doctors and the medical staff and the people in that field ... but from everything we’ve been told, that is not a concern,” Grier said.

Tagovailoa had a breakout season under the guidance of McDaniel but his head injuries prompted further questions about his durability. He’s missed 10 games because of injuries since entering the NFL in 2020. But Grier and McDaniel’s recent comments indicate the team will have clarity at the quarterback position in 2023 as the franchise attempts to build off its first playoff appearance since 2016.

The Dolphins will have until May 1 to decide to exercise Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option, which would extend his contract through the 2024 season; the final season would be worth a projected $22 million, fully guaranteed. Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 Draft, is also eligible to sign a long-term extension.

“I think everything’s on the table for us,” Grier said.

As Grier fielded questions alongside McDaniel at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens, two answers he gave encapsulated the state of the Dolphins.

Asked if he viewed the 2022 season as a success, Grier said: “It was successful. I would say not satisfied.”

The final question he took required a moment of thought: Is a 9-9 record, which includes Sunday’s loss to the Bills in the wild-card round, a fair reflection of the season?

“I started with Bill Parcells. He says, ‘You are what [your record says] you are,’” Grier said. “We haven’t had injuries like this [since] 2017, maybe last time we were ravaged by injuries. I think we finished where were but we got to the playoffs, had a chance to win a playoff game versus one of the best teams in football. So, kind of what it is.”

The Dolphins took positive steps forward in the 2022 season, as McDaniel built a top offense around Tagovailoa and came close to ending a 22-year drought without a postseason victory. But after their season ended in Orchard Park, New York, to a division rival that figures to be a contender for the foreseeable future, the Dolphins are now left to kickstart their plans to make the franchise among the NFL’s elite.

The bitter taste of the loss was still fresh, and neither Grier nor McDaniel wanted to make grand announcements on potential coaching staff changes or roster moves.

“You can lend yourself to living with regret if you make any sort of decisions emotionally,” McDaniel said. “So, we’re going to go through the process and you’ve got to kind of let things simmer, really for the entire coaching staff, just like you do with players and have communication. It’s going to take a minute.”

The Dolphins have just 37 players under contract for the 2023 season and will have to make moves to get under the cap and fill out the remainder of the roster. Offensive line, inside linebacker and cornerback are among the positions that will need either starters or depth added in the coming months. “We always have flexibility,” Grier said of the team’s cap situation.

Grier noted the maturation of the team, with Tagovailoa being the chief example, as well as the improvement of the defense after the team’s November trade for outside linebacker Bradley Chubb.

And if Tagovailoa can remain healthy, the Dolphins will continue to have a strong core of ascending players to build around.

“For our guys to go out there in that environment and most of that roster hadn’t been in a playoff environment before,” Grier said, “and go down 17 and not blink and come back and fight and get into it, and have a chance late in the game to tie it up or potentially win; very excited. We’re disappointed we lost, but very excited, so I would say yes, it was a successful season.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2023 at 6:22 PM.

Daniel Oyefusi

Miami Herald

Daniel Oyefusi covers the Dolphins for the Miami Herald. A native of Towson, Maryland, he graduated from the University of Maryland: College Park. Previously, he covered the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.