The Skylar Thompson era begins, for how long, no one knows. It took five days, but the Miami Dolphins have placed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve Tuesday because of the concussion he suffered Thursday in the 31-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills.
It is not clear from the organization’s announcement how long Tagovailoa will be sidelined. A stint on injured reserve means that Tagovailoa will miss at least four games, which will give him the time he needs to consult with medical professionals.
Tagovailoa, who has a well-documented history of head trauma, dating back to his collegiate days at the University of Alabama in 2019, was concussed by a hit to the head in the third quarter of Thursday’s loss to their AFC East rival, the Bills.
Tagovailoa remained down on the field for several minutes after the blow. He eventually walked to the locker room with the aid of trainers and did not return to the game.
Backup Skylar Thompson took over the reins at the quarterback position against Buffalo and will be the presumed starter moving forward as long as Tagovailoa remains on the shelf. The Dolphins signed former Ravens backup Tyler Huntley off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad on Monday. According to NFL rules, the Dolphins must free up a spot on their 53-man roster to Huntley for at least their next three games.
“We got to learn firsthand a nice reminder of how it only takes one play and what you think your depth is changes abruptly,” coach Mike McDaniel said. “So that’s a move for moving forward to secure some depth in case of the unforeseen, which is timelines for us as it relates to Tua.”
Huntley has started 10 games in his four-year career, mostly for the Ravens. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2022 after helping guide them to the playoffs in place of Lamar Jackson when he had a knee injury and going through a contract dispute. Huntley started Baltimore’s playoff loss to Joe Borrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Embed from Getty Images“I do think that it helps the dynamics of the [quarterbacks] room to add another guy with starting history to this team,” McDaniel said of Huntley. “He’s a guy that’s a signal-caller that a team can get behind. … I think this is more directly to back up Skylar, and then you always let competition play out when it’s out on the field. But this is a depth move, for sure.”
Tagovailoa’s latest devastating brain injury reignited the loud noise for him to consider walking away from the game and retiring to protect his health. He is reportedly in consultation with independent neurologists and has no plans of retiring.
Tagovailoa suffered at least two concussions during the 2022 season and is believed to have suffered a third. He was visibly shaken and dis oriented after hitting the back of his head on the turf in Week 4 that season against the Bills. He was allowed to return to the game after initially being diagnosed with a head injury but passing concussion protocol. The Dolphins later classified the injury as a back injury.
A week later in a road matchup against the Bengals, another significant blow to the head triggered what appeared to be a fencing response from Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa was immobilized on a stretcher and transported from the stadium to a local hospital. He was diagnosed with a concussion.
Tagovailoa missed the next two games before returning to the field in Week 7. He suffered another concussion on Christmas day in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers that ended his season. His third head injury of the season prompted calls for Tagovailoa to retire.
The Dolphins handling of Tagovailoa’s injury against the Bills in 2022 and allowing him to return to the field came under fire and caused an NFLPA investigation and ultimately triggered a midseason change to the NFL’s concussion protocols to better protect players who have sustained head injuries.
Tagovailoa was vulnerable and revealed that he considered retirement during the 2023 season, but returned to the grid iron to play all 17 games, earning his first Pro Bowl nod in the process. Tagovailoa inked a four-year, $212 million extension prior to the kick off of this season.
