Following Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills, the first part of the press conference led by Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel focused on questions about the recent concussion suffered by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
First, McDaniel answered a question about the timeline for Tua’s return, including a possible placement on the injured list.
“Right now, I’m not really — I’m more concerned about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time,” McDaniel told reporters. “The last thing I’m thinking about is the timeline. I want to know — we just have to evaluate it and I’m just worried about my teammate, as are the rest of the guys. We’ll get more information and take it day by day from there.”
McDaniel was then asked about the impact of Tua’s previous concussions, especially in 2022, on how he handles the most recent one.
“I think it’s important to approach each individual situation the same way — the same way we approach each injury, which is basically, ‘Okay, we’re going to handle this particular situation with this particular player,'” McDaniel said. “Every situation is unique, so I think it’s — for me, it’s, I don’t worry about things that are out of my control. I just worry about the human and he’ll steer the ship when we get the information, but it’s day-to-day health, you know, and that’s really how I try to approach everything, especially concussions.”
The next topic revolved around the broader question that some are already asking, namely, whether it is safe for Tua to continue playing football.
“I think that’s from a medical standpoint — I don’t go into things where I’m far inferior in expertise,” McDaniel said. “I’m just there to support my teammates, like I said. I think it’s not appropriate for me to predict things that I don’t know in my non-specialized area. I think we’ll get more information tomorrow on where Tua is. He’ll be able to spend a lot of time getting evaluated and then we’ll have conversations and move forward accordingly. But I’m — like the rest of his teammates, he’s been going through the locker room and connecting with them, as a leader, he’s been trying to keep guys’ heads up and he’ll be in the office tomorrow to get the appropriate care.”
That is the right way to approach the situation. There are and will be many factors that need to be considered. Right now, the task is to get a full and comprehensive assessment of Tua’s overall brain health. At some point, the question will be if and when he will be allowed to play again.
Ultimately, the question may be whether he wants to play if and when he is cleared.
