Tua Tagovailoa injury update will sideline Dolphins QB for good chunk of 2024

In the Miami Dolphins' Thursday Night Football game against the Bills, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has three very serious concussions in his history, was again concussed when trying to stretch for a first down. Tua collided with Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin and was instantly removed from the game.

Tagovailoa's injury is so serious that many voices from around the NFL discussed if it's prudent to keep playing and risk an even more debilitating injury. While those discussions have taken place, Tagovailoa was placed on Injured Reserve. This means Skylar Thompson will be in charge of the Miami offense for the immediate future.

The Miami Dolphins have placed QB Tua Tagovailoa on Injured Reserve

The Dolphins have placed Tagovailoa on IR to let him progress through the concussion protocol. This will sideline him until, at the earliest, a Week 8 duel against the Arizona Cardinals. ESPN's Jeff Darlington reports that Tua will "seek continued medical advice" during this period.

Tagovailoa's injury problems are concerning on a human level, even excluding all the football problems his absence creates. While a return to football should be secondary until he gets clearance that he will be good to go, the Dolphins could put him back in if doctors tell them Tagovailoa can withstand the pounding an NFL QB takes.

While Tagovailoa led a comeback win in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was intercepted three times against Buffalo before his concussion ruled him out of the remainder of the game. Without Tua in the fold, the Miami passing game will be much less explosive and efficient.

Thompson has experience filling in for Tagovailoa before, but the results were lukewarm, to say the least. Former Baltimore Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, a native son of Broward County, was signed away from the practice squad, but he might take a while to learn the playbook.

The next four games the Dolphins will play involve two more meetings against promising young AFC South quarterbacks in Tennessee's Will Levis and Indianapolis' Anthony Richardson, mixed in with a division game against the Patriots and a road trip against the Seattle Seahawks.

Tagovailoa's injuries have progressed to the point where they have become scary, and Dolphins fans will not fault him one bit if he is not ready to return for the Arizona game. However, if all the other boxes are checked, Thompson may need to survive just one month before Tua returns.