Dolphins disappointed for Tua: ‘You feel for him because he’s the reason we’re here’

Dolphins teammates expressed compassion for Tua Tagovailoa’s situation and disappointment he cannot play for them in their playoff game this weekend in Buffalo.

After 17 days, Tagovailoa hasn’t been cleared to move beyond the early to mid stages of concussion protocol. He has been ruled out for Sunday’s game (1 p.m., CBS).

“You feel for him because he’s the reason we’re here,” fullback Alec Ingold said. “You want that playoff experience for him... His long-term health, happiness, his family, being a friend to him for a long time means a lot more than a football game. We get him healthy, happy, back here for many more years and hopefully many more playoff games. Glad he’s healthy and progressing the way he needs to.”

Tight end Mike Gesicki said: “First and foremost, you think about his health. You want him long-term to be OK and be healthy. Walking around the building, he’s good. There’s obviously a lot of medical stuff above all of our pay grade. You hope he’s OK moving forward.”

Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, Tagovailoa’s current teammate and former teammate at Alabama, said it’s “tough” that Tagovailoa isn’t playing but seemed braced for this.

“We’re disappointed Tua is not going to be out there,” Waddle said. “It’s not his first week not out there, so it’s not a shock. He’s going to continue to lead us and guide us. He’s going to be with us throughout the week, helping us get prepared.”

Asked if he expects to see Tagovailoa play for the Dolphins again at some point, Waddle said: “That’s not a question for me. I don’t know.”

(The only person who has publicly said Tagovailoa plans to continue playing is his brother, Maryland quarterback Taulia. But nobody has suggested that Tagovailoa isn’t going to resume his career, and Tagovailoa told teammates he hoped to play this week, as NFL Network reported. So all indications are that Tagovailoa will continue playing.)

Robert Hunt said it “sucks for” Tagovailoa not to be able to play Sunday. “A guy like him, came in with me. We’ve been here for three long years. Hadn’t sniffed the playoffs. And to do it this year, and he had a big role in that, I hate it for him.”

Skylar Thompson, who is expected to start at quarterback Sunday (per coach Mike McDaniel), said Tagovailoa told him after Sunday’s win against the Jets that “he was really proud of me. For what Tua has experienced this year, I can only imagine how hard it is for him. I just commend his leadership and the way that he’s treated me throughout this whole process.”

INJURY UPDATE

Eight Dolphins on the 53-man roster did not practice Wednesday: tackles Terron Armstead (toe, hip, pectoral, knee), Kendall Lamm (ankle) and Brandon Shell (knee, ankle); Tagovailoa, linebacker Bradley Chubb (hand, ankle), guard Liam Eichenberg (hand), running back Raheem Mostert (thumb surgery) and linebacker Melvin Ingram (veteran’s rest day).

Armstead said Wednesday that he holds out hope of playing Sunday; here are his comments and a comprehensive look at where the offensive line stands.

Six others were limited: quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (knee, finger), Ingold (thumb), linebacker Jaelan Phillips (toe, wrist), receivers Waddle (ankle) and Cedrick Wilson Jr. (hip, groin) and running back Jeff Wilson Jr. (illness).

The Bills have only two players on the 53-man roster who did not practice due to injury: defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (shoulder) and safety Jordan Poyer (knee). Receiver Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) was limited.

GESICKI IN PLAYOFFS

Gesicki waited five years to make the playoffs. And though this is nothing he would be reasonably expected to discuss this week, his first playoff game with Miami (if the Dolphins lose) could be his last game with the franchise.

“As a competitor, it’s the next step, something we’ve been working for,” Gesicki said of making the postseason. “We definitely made it the hard way.”

Gesicki is expected to move on as a free agent in March.

He will finish his Dolphins tenure ranked second all time among tight ends in receiving yardage with 2,617, trailing only Randy McMichael’s 3,096.

His 231 receptions rank third all time among Dolphins tight ends, behind McMichael (283) and Bruce Hardy (256).

After catching 73 passes for 780 yards last season, Gesicki saw his role in the offense diminish considerably, and he finished this season with 32 catches for 362 yards, though his touchdown receptions rose from two to five.

How has Gesicki adjusted to the offense?

“It’s been up and down,” tight ends coach John Embree said. “...Mike learning how to contribute without having the ball in his hand has been a process. I think it’s something that as we’ve continued to move forward that he’s gotten better at and has kind of embraced it as much as he can, that aspect of playing this position.

“But what we do in that room is really unique because you’ve got to pass block, run block and you go out for passes. When you’re asked to do those different things, sometimes those skills maybe aren’t as developed as they needed to be. Maybe they’re skills that are completely new, or maybe it’s just something that you can’t do.... Mike, I mean, everyone wants to talk about targets and all that stuff and plays and that’s not something that I’ve focused on, and I don’t feel like he has per se. Me and him have had conversations probably once a month just about what’s happened as far as his usage, how we can try to improve it and things that he needs to continue to work on and that’s what he’s done.”

Embree added: “We all know what Mike is as a past catcher; there’s things that I would like him to get better at as a route runner, whether it’s zone or man releases. There’s a lot that goes on when you’re dependent on other people to get you the ball, when you’re dependent on certain coverages that we’re hoping to get to try to get you the ball and sometimes those things don’t go your way. It would have been easy for him to be very frustrated with it. It would be easy for him to try to be a cancer in the locker room and all that and he’s done none of that.”

Embree said the personal relationship between the two has “been good. We sit around, we laugh and joke. We’ve had very serious conversations. We’ve had very lighthearted conversations. One on one, I think it’s been good seeing the dynamic between him and Durham Smythe. They’re like brothers. So I think having someone like Durham to help him through the tough times has added to his ability to focus on the next day, the next practice, the next play.”