Dolphins Placing QB Tua Tagovailoa On Injured Reserve

According to Mike Garafolo, the Dolphins are placing QB Tua Tagovailoa on injured reserve. 

This means he will miss at least four games before he’s eligible to return, even if he were to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol before then. 

Given Tagovailoa’s history with concussions, it’s clear the Dolphins want to be conservative and put as little pressure on Tagovailoa to return before he’s ready as possible. 

At this time, it doesn’t appear as if Tagovailoa plans to retire, but he’s still in the process of meeting with neurologists. 

Tagovailoa was injured late in Thursday night’s loss to the Bills when he scrambled and dove head-first, making forcible contact with both the defender and the ground. 

He immediately went down and his arms appeared to go in the fencing posture, which is indicative of a brain injury. He was ruled out for the rest of the game. 

Tagovailoa, 26, was selected with the No. 5 overall pick out of Alabama in 2020 by the Dolphins. He signed a four-year, $30,275,438 rookie contract with a $19,578,501 signing bonus. He earned a base salary of $1,010,000 in the final year of his deal.

The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option worth $23,171,000 for the 2024 season. 

From there, the team re-signed him to a four-year deal worth up to $212 million this offseason that included $167 million guaranteed.

In 2024, Tagovailoa has appeared in two games for the Dolphins and completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 483 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.

We’ll have more on Tagovailoa as the news is available.