Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on Tua Tagovailoa damage: ‘We simply want to guage’ after ‘correct’ concussion exams
Tua Tagovailoa exited the Miami Dolphins’ Thursday evening loss to the Buffalo Payments with a concussion, the quarterback’s third documented head damage since 2022. Some NFL greats have already urged the 26-year-old to retire, citing his long-term well being past soccer. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, in the meantime, advised reporters after the sport that Tagovailoa will “drive the ship” of his restoration after additional exams.
“Proper now … it is extra about getting a correct procedural analysis [Friday], and taking it someday at a time,” McDaniel mentioned. “The furthest factor from my thoughts is what’s the timeline. We simply want to guage.”
Tagovailoa was in “good spirits” within the postgame locker room, McDaniel mentioned, regardless of leaving Thursday’s contest within the third quarter, throughout which the quarterback’s concussed “fencing” posture evoked pictures of his earlier head accidents. The coach was “simply apprehensive about my man” within the quick aftermath of the damage, McDaniel mentioned, although he declined to say whether or not he believes it might be protected for Tagovailoa to proceed enjoying, given his historical past of head trauma.
“For me, I am not apprehensive about something that is out of my palms,” he mentioned. “I am simply apprehensive in regards to the human being. He’ll drive the ship after we get the suitable info. Proper now, it is day-by-day well being. … From a medical standpoint, I do not strategy issues that I am far inferior of experience, I am simply there to assist my teammate, like I mentioned. For me to forecast issues that I do not know in my non-field of experience, I do not assume that is acceptable.”
As for what Tagovailoa’s loss means to Miami’s season, together with the Dolphins’ blowout defeat by the hands of the Payments, McDaniel struck a extra optimistic tone.
“We’ll have loads of alternatives to actually take the sheer frustration and anger out on the best way we strategy our jobs,” he mentioned. “It’s totally a lot Week 2, and our first division recreation, and it feels approach greater than that as a result of there’s quite a lot of historical past to this matchup, and there was quite a lot of issues that we thought we had been gonna handle which might be undoubtedly not taken care of. It is a intestine verify for the staff early within the season.
“It is one loss that actually cuts deep,” McDaniel continued, “however that may both be a great factor or a foul factor relying on the way you reply to it. I actually consider within the locker room. … And I higher consider it, as a result of it is gonna be some time earlier than it is gonna be anyone however us believing that.”