Mike McDaniel confirms MRI results for Tua Tagovailoa, who will miss game vs. Jets

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel announced on Monday that starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss the team’s road game on Sunday against the New York Jets as he is still in concussion protocol.

Veteran signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater will start in Tagovailoa’s place. Bridgewater completed 14 of his 23 passes for 193 yards, one touchdown and one interception on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game the Dolphins lost 27-15.

The University of Louisville product entered the game after Tagovailoa hit his head following a rough tackle from a Bengals defender.

While Bridgewater had some nice moments throughout the game, including a deep pass to star wide receiver Tyreek Hill, he was unable to lead the Dolphins to victory.

In recent days, the Dolphins have been criticized for how Tagovailoa’s situation was handled. He initially hit his head during the team’s Week 3 contest against the Buffalo Bills before being cleared and returning to action.

He then started against the Bengals and was on the receiving end of a similar hit. Many believe that he shouldn’t have been out there in the first place.

In some good news, Tagovailoa has been in the team’s facility and had a “couple of good days.” McDaniel also stated that the MRI that was done on Tagovailoa came back clean.

One can only wonder how long Tagovailoa will be out for. Miami now has a couple of easier opponents coming up after going through a tough stretch to start the season.

After taking on the Jets, it will face the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears in successive weeks.

Bridgewater should be able to handle those teams pretty easily. The coming weeks will also give the Dolphins a chance to work on their ground game, which hasn’t done all that well this season.

The passing game has made its mark with big plays from Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds haven’t been able to get the running game off going.

While Mostert got the most carries on the team on Thursday, it seems like he and Edmonds will still split time in the backfield.

What’s most important right now is that Tagovailoa take some time off to recover from the scary injury. He surely knows that his teammates have his back and will do everything they can to keep the Dolphins atop the AFC.