Tagovailoa enters concussion protocol; where things stand. Players react after 4-game skid

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa entered concussion protocol on Monday, leaving his status in question for Sunday’s game at New England.

Teddy Bridgewater will take the majority of snaps on Wednesday and Thursday and would start on Sunday if Tagovailoa does not clear the five steps necessary to exit protocol.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said it’s too soon to know if Tagovailoa could come out of protocol in time to play in New England. Players sometimes can clear protocol within a week. McDaniel said he didn’t know until mid-afternoon on Monday that Tagovailoa would be entering protocol.

McDaniel said it’s not clear if Tagovailoa sustained a concussion or when he might have sustained one, but he was diagnosed with symptoms of a concussion on Monday, which automatically triggers going into protocol.

During the game, nobody with the team or the medical staff on site noticed any hit that might have caused a concussion, McDaniel said.

But one video circulated on social media on Sunday that showed Tagovailoa hitting his head hard on the turf late in the first half when he was thrown to the ground by a Packers player just after he threw a pass. He got up quickly after that play, played the entire second half and exhibited no symptoms that drew anybody’s attention.

“This is something that just came across my plate a couple hours ago,” McDaniel said at 5 p.m. on Monday. “As far as the game was concerned, no one recognized anything with regard to any sort of hit. I can’t really tell you exactly what it was. I’m not totally positive on that, but it was something that he met with the doctors today and discussed some symptoms and then from that, as you guys know, from there on, that’s between Tua and the doctors and we’ll move forward as information is projected towards us.”

Asked if doctors know if Tagovailoa had a concussion, McDaniel said: “He’s displayed symptoms and they enacted the protocol, which is all that needs to happen before you have to, by the player’s health, go through that whole process as they should, so it’s a little early.”

This is the second time that Tagovailoa is entering concussion protocol this season.

Tagovailoa sustained a concussion on Sept. 29 against Cincinnati when the Bengals’ Josh Tupou threw him to the turf. While on the ground, his hands froze in front of his face. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and taken away on a stretcher.

He missed three games; Miami lost all of them. In the subsequent days, he met with multiple neurologists who reportedly said they saw nothing particularly worrisome in X-rays and CT scans.

If Tagovailoa sustained a concussion on Sunday, it would be either his second or third this season. The doctors on site ruled he did not sustain a concussion in Week 2 against Buffalo, but there’s no way to know that with certainty.

The players union filed a grievance about how that situation was handled against Buffalo, prompting a change in the league’s concussion protocol system. Under the new policy, a player must be removed from the game and enter protocol if he displays ataxia after a play.

Ataxia is described as poor muscle control that causes clumsy voluntary movements. It may cause difficulty with walking and balance, hand coordination, speech and swallowing, and eye movements.

But no medical personnel observed any ataxia from Tagovailoa during Sunday’s game, and he did not report any issues.

How concerned is McDaniel about Tagovailoa’s health after might have been another concussion?

“I just want guys to be done right by with the information we have, the science, the medical expertise we really on,” McDaniel said. “I care very deeply about each and every player. I just want him to get healthy and have peace of mind in that regard. Whatever those circumstances are, you deal with after. It’s about the human being and making sure he’s squared away.”

Guard Robert Hunt said Tagovailoa was “in good spirits” on Monday.

Bridgewater has appeared in four games this season, but he left the only game he started (against the Jets) very early in the game after medical personnel at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey said he exhibited ataxia after a hard hit. This season, Bridgewater has completed 37 of 60 passes for 522 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions; he has an 85.6 passer rating.

“I know Teddy will prepare as though he’s starting and we’ll see as the week goes,” McDaniel said.

Tagovailoa is 4-0 in his career against New England. Bridgewater has never faced the Patriots.

MORE INJURIES

McDaniel said Monday that linebacker Bradley Chubb (hand injury) and fullback Alec Ingold (thumb injury) will wear casts this week and “we’ll see how they respond.”

Their status for the New England game is “up in the air,” McDaniel said. “They played as long as they could” on Sunday.

PLAYER FEEDBACK

Some highlights from four Dolphins player press conferences on Monday:

▪ Linebacker Jaelan Phillips, on the defense: “We’re not playing as well as we should be with the talent we have, the coaching staff we have, the bond that we have.”

▪ Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. on the mood of the team: “I wouldn’t say down or disappointed but something along those lines. We know what we can do, what we’re supposed to be....

“We’re a contender. We’re a top dog, Not only in this division or conference, but in the league. When the wins and losses don’t reflect that, it’s frustrating. It’s almost self-[inflicted]. When it’s like that, it’s even more painful.”

▪ Hunt, on the team’s situation: “It’s tough to lose four games, especially with the team we have. We know we’re a really good team. We’re excited to get back to work this week and make things right.”

▪ Christian Wilkins said to snap out of this, “it starts with each individual looking at themselves in the mirror, [seeing] things they can do better. And the leaders on the team making sure.. everyone is handling their business. There are little things we need to improve on.”

Wilkins said one thing “we could do a better job of [is] takeaways.” Miami’s 14 takeaways are third fewest in the league.

He said: “We’ve got to be our best” at key moments.

Clemson practiced inside the Dolphins’ indoor facility on Monday in preparation for Friday’s Orange Bowl against Tennessee. Wilkins, a former Clemson standout, spoke to coach Dabo Swinney and Swinney said “he’s proud of me.”