Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel prioritizing Tua Tagovailoa’s well-being over football future

By Kevin Dotson, CNN

(CNN) — Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on Friday was more focused on Tua Tagovailoa’s well-being than the team’s future after the star quarterback suffered another scary head injury in Thursday night’s game.

Tagovailoa was injured in the third quarter of Thursday’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills when he dove for a first down and took a hit to the head in a collision with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The 26-year-old stayed on the ground at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and was attended to by Dolphins trainers. Tagovailoa eventually walked off the field under his own power and was replaced by backup quarterback Skylar Thompson.

McDaniel told reporters Friday that Tagovailoa was sleeping when he tried to call earlier in the morning and said Tagovailoa would be having his first “after action” meeting with team medical experts later in the day.

“It’s important that he gets healthy day by day and in that the actual best thing I can do is not try to assess what this even means from a football standpoint,” McDaniel told reporters on a video conference.

It’s at least the third concussion the quarterback has suffered during his NFL career.McDaniel refused to speculate about the severity of Tagovailoa’s latest concussion or a timeline for his possible return to the football field.

“It didn’t really matter the severity of it,” McDaniel said. “All the science behind concussions tells you what we’ve learned is how delicate the time is right after an injury and how important it is that you don’t institute extra sources of anxiety.”

“Questioning timelines – that gives forth anxiety,” McDaniel added. “Trying to meet them, trying to assess what this means for playing – this is heavy stuff. You have to be diligent and deliberate in coaching up Tua. ‘Hey, your job is to be a dad and to communicate daily.’

“We’ll have daily assessments with experts in the field and handle that, and that is the only thing that matters.”

McDaniel was also quick to shut down questions about whether Tagovailoa might be contemplating retirement.

“I think it would be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject,” McDaniel answered. “You’re talking about his career, right? His career is his.”

“The most important person in this whole equation is Tua,” McDaniel said later.
“His opinion and what he wants to do with his life and his career coupled with the experts in neuroscience, those are the driving forces behind those actions.”

“I’m extremely motivated to do right by the person that we’re talking about,” McDaniel added. “That’s not an ideal way to do business necessarily, but this is more than business.”

As for the future of the Dolphins, McDaniel said the team would be moving forward with preparing Thompson to start in Week 3, but added that the team would also be looking to add another quarterback to the roster.

“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said. “There was a reason he was our backup quarterback.”

The 41-year-old McDaniel was hired by the Dolphins ahead of the 2022 NFL season. He has compiled a 21-15 record and has led Miami to the playoffs the last two seasons.

McDaniel has dealt with his fair share of issues while at the helm of the Dolphins including star wide receiver Tyreek Hill being detained by police ahead of the team’s season opener last week.

The Dolphins play again on September 22, when the team travels to Seattle to face the Seahawks.

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