‘Don’t really know.’ Dolphins unsure if Tagovailoa’s hip injury will keep him out vs. Jets
The Miami Dolphins could be without their franchise quarterback for a must-win season finale against the New York Jets.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel wasn’t sure about Tua Tagovailoa’s availability on Sunday as the quarterback continues to deal with a hip injury that forced him to miss the Week 17 matchup with the Cleveland Browns. McDaniel, however, did confirm Sunday that surgery wasn’t “currently on the table.”
“Honestly, I don’t really know,” McDaniel said Monday. “There was a lot of optimism last week in my mind based upon the previous experience. So this week, I know one thing: [Tyler Huntley] will get more reps than Tua this week.”
“To even begin to forecast this next week is difficult because we were waiting until the last hour,” McDaniel said Sunday, later adding that “it was not ideal in any way, shape, or form to have a game like this and not have him available, but it was also, from a medical perspective, not an option for him to play. We’ll be hopeful for that as we progress. I can’t even lean one way or the other really. We’ll see what the world has in store for us.”
After initially being listed as questionable, Miami downgraded Tagovailoa to doubtful on Saturday afternoon before ultimately ruling him out just before Sunday’s kickoff. McDaniel explained that the decision to hold Tagovailoa out stems from not the injury worsening but its lack of healing.
“Relative to a projected timeline based upon the previous week, I would say that it didn’t improve as we were kind of forecasting,” McDaniel added Monday.
The move surprised teammates and fans alike.
“I didn’t know until right before the game,” defensive tackle Calais Campbell said Sunday. “I looked over and saw him in sweats and I was like ‘Yeah I guess Huntley’s up.’”
Tagovailoa sustained the injury during the Dolphins’ Week 15 game against the Houston Texans. He then took a big hit the subsequent week versus San Francisco 49ers, something that McDaniel said re-aggravated the hip.
“We were hoping and anticipating for a timeline similar to that, and as the week progressed, we didn’t see the improvement we’d hoped for, but still really allowing his body the full amount of time to heal,” McDaniel added Sunday. “Ultimately he absolutely wanted to play. It wasn’t a pain tolerance thing, because he wanted to. That’s not in the equation for him. The main thing was that he not only was super susceptible to a much more significant injury based upon that injury if he were to fall in harm’s way, but a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury, and his inability, as we forecasted, to protect himself and his teammates within the pocket and doing the things that he normally has to do.”
Although Tagovailoa had to get surgery to repair a dislocated hip during his junior year at Alabama, McDaniel denied a connection between that and his latest injury. In fact, both Tagovailoa and coaches alike downplayed the injury’s severity during the last few weeks.
“It’s good,” Tagovailoa said Thursday. “It’s just like anyone else on the team and anyone else around the league. You get banged up little bit towards the ending of the year so just got to take care of that.”
McDaniel and offensive coordinator Frank Smith shared similar sentiments ahead of the 49ers game.
“There’s no concern for us,” Smith said Dec. 19. “We’re just working through all the little things that come out of each game with everyone.”
“Frank was not wrong,” McDaniel added Dec. 20. “It’s something that in December football, there’s a lot of those things where players across the board are getting dinged and you have to be able to executive with those things. He’s certainly not made an issue for this week’s prep.”
With Tagovailoa unable to suit up against the Browns, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley shined, completing roughly 85% of his passes for 225 yards and a touchdown. He also added 52 yards on the ground as well as a rushing score.
“I actually feel more comfortable with these plays,” Huntley said Sunday. “So yeah, a couple weeks in the office definitely makes a difference.”
If Tagovailoa misses another game, Huntley will once again be in line to start. And if he can match his performance against the Browns, that might not be a bad thing, especially if Tagovailoa remains hobbled.
“I think what was evident was the positives of time for Snoop and for how far he’s come since we last played with him,” McDaniel said Sunday. “I thought that was a tremendous outing for him. I thought he made some plays and was very good with the ball, and those are always cool things for a player when they’re playing a team that they were on in that same calendar year.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2024 at 3:01 PM.
