Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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