Two weeks ago the thought of playing the Dolphins in Miami looked daunting. But now the Minnesota Vikings are six days from facing a team that has dropped two in a row and doesn’t know who its starting quarterback will be.
Tua Tagovailoa and backup Teddy Bridgewater are in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
When asked about Tagovailoa’s status for Sunday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said there isn’t a timeline for his return and he is being evaluated every 12-to-24 hours.
“I’m not even thinking about his timeline,” McDaniel said in his weekly press conference. “We’re just trying to get him as healthy as possible. … He was here today but he’s not ready to take the full football step yet.”
The Dolphins have been linked with the league’s concussion protocol after Tagovailoa suffered concussions in back-to-back weeks. He suffered his first concussion in a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 25 but was allowed to go back into the game after an independent neurologist made several mistakes in his evaluation, according to reports.
Four days later, Tagvailoa was taken off on a stretcher after being violently thrown to the ground in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tagovailoa’s injury sent shockwaves across the league as the independent neurologist that initially evaluated Tagovailoa was fired on Oct. 1. The NFL also adopted a new concussion protocol in cooperation with the National Football League Players Association that disqualifies players for showing symptoms of ataxia.
According to the Mayo Clinic, ataxia causes clumsy, involuntary movements that can result due to damage to the part of the brain that controls muscle coordination (the cerebellum) or its connections.
The new protocols went into effect last week and was in play when Bridgewater was sent to the ground on the first offensive play of the game against the New York Jets.
Bridgewater was evaluated and showed no symptoms of a concussion but did have symptoms of ataxia, which prevented him from returning to the game and being placed in the league’s protocol.
“Honestly, I don’t really concern myself with all of that just because I was there at the game,” McDaniel said. “I was watching him intently because it was the first offensive play of the game and I didn’t see him stumble, but I’m also not really in the business of grading and coaching spotters. The rule is in place for player safety and I’m all about that.”
While McDaniel said Bridgewater had no symptoms on Monday, he said the earliest he could return to practice was on Thursday, leaving him up in the air to face the Vikings.
If Bridgewater and Tagovailoa aren’t cleared from the protocol, third-string rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round pick out of Kansas State, would be in line to start.
Thompson made his NFL debut on Sunday, completing 19-of-33 passes for 166 yards and an interception in a 40-17 loss to the Jets.
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