In very good news, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has reportedly cleared concussion protocol and is expected to return for the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news on Saturday morning.
It’s definitely great news for the Dolphins, who have struggled in Tagovailoa’s absence. Of course, the third-year signal-caller was stretchered off the field in the team’s Week 4 defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals after suffering a very scary injury.
He didn’t play in the team’s 40-17 loss last week against the New York Jets and will not play on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Teddy Bridgewater, on the other hand, will be active against the Vikings after also clearing concussion protocol.
Dolphins’ QB Teddy Bridgewater also was cleared from concussion protocol today, per sources. He will be active Week 6 and serve as the back-up on Sunday to rookie QB Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins seventh-round draft pick this year.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 15, 2022
Why not play Tagovailoa against the Vikings?
Head coach Mike McDaniel has already announced that rookie Skylar Thompson will get the starting nod against the Vikings. Miami is being extremely patient with Tagovailoa and has no need to rush him back.
His safety should be the team’s first priority, and it seems to be just that.
On Friday, McDaniel explained that the team decided to start Thompson against the Vikings to make the week of preparation smoother for the team, given that he was the only one not in concussion protocol this week among him, Tagovailoa and Bridgewater.
Mike McDaniel says Teddy Bridgewater is still QB2 when all quarterbacks are healthy.
"We decided to start Skylar because we decided it was best for the team having the week to prepare."
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) October 14, 2022
It’s a smart plan from McDaniel, and giving Thompson those first-team reps throughout the week might really end up helping him on Sunday.
Thompson entered in relief of Bridgewater against the Jets and wasn’t too bad, completing 19 passes for 166 yards and one interception. While those numbers might not jump off the page, he had some nice reads and throws.
Skylar Thompson finds Hill for the first down pic.twitter.com/gEvdP1OzSJ
— FinCuts (@FinCuts) October 9, 2022
Holy Cow. Skylar Thompson scrambles and finds Waddle for the first down pic.twitter.com/aJewzl1I2J
— FinCuts (@FinCuts) October 9, 2022
The seventh-round draft pick even kept the Dolphins in the game until pretty late, but things came unglued in the fourth quarter.
Possible game plan for Sunday
Given Thompson’s inexperience, the Dolphins might be a little more inclined to run the ball. While the Dolphins have the third-worst rushing attack in the league, they have gotten some nice performances over the past two weeks from Raheem Mostert.
He ran for 113 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries against the Jets and carried the ball 15 times against the Bengals for 69 yards.
So proud of my client Raheem Mostert on his first touchdown as a member of the Miami Dolphins! Nobody knows how long and hard he worked to get back to this point! pic.twitter.com/jMjkWM3ZhW
— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) October 9, 2022
The Vikings are in the middle of the pack in terms of rushing defense, so McDaniel could definitely find some success against them. It will be interesting to see what he cooks up for the Dolphins on offense.
Miami desperately needs a win to hold its playoff spot in the AFC. After a 3-0 start, it is now 3-2 and needs to end the slide.
