Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel on Tua Tagovailoa’s future: ‘Wrong of me to even sniff that subject’

While former NFL players and even one active head coach have questioned whether Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should step away from football after his third diagnosed concussion in three years, his coach is focused on his player’s health in the moment.

Miami coach Mike McDaniel said Friday it would be “so, so wrong of me to even sniff” at the subject of retirement, one day after his franchise quarterback had to be helped off the field in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“Bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him,” McDaniel said. “I’m going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care, that should be the last thing on your mind.

“It’s probably only fair that their career should be decided by them.”

Tagovailoa, 26, suffered the injury when he collided head-first with Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s chest while trying to rush for a first down. He was quickly ruled out of the game because of a concussion, meaning he will be placed in the league’s concussion protocol.

McDaniel acknowledged that Tagovailoa’s rehab time isn’t up to him, as he’ll need to be cleared by the Dolphins’ team physician in addition to an independent neurologist as part of a five-phase return to play.

McDaniel said he didn’t see how Tagovailoa would be back for Week 3 — Miami next plays a week from Sunday — but did not say whether the quarterback would be placed on the injured reserve list.

“The driving force behind any sort of move, the absolute most important opinion and the most important person in all of this is Tua,” McDaniel said. “His opinion and what he wants to do with his life and his career, coupled with the experts in neuroscience, those are the driving forces behind those actions.”

Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa for the rest of Thursday’s loss, would likely step in as the starting quarterback. Miami has quarterback Tim Boyle on its practice squad, and McDaniel mentioned adding another player before the team plays the Seattle Seahawks.

“I think it’s a fair assessment to be prepared to have three quarterbacks on the roster for next game,” he said.

But the rest of the roster aside, McDaniel stressed throughout his availability his emphasis on nurturing Tagavailoa back to health as a person before even considering when the best time is for him to return to the field.

McDaniel had only one message for his quarterback.

Said McDaniel: “All I’m telling Tua is, ‘Everyone is counting on you to be a dad this weekend and then we’ll move from there.'”

(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)