McDaniel: Tagovailoa had no concussion until Thursday, but games are secondary now

MIAMI GARDENS — Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, while conceding “what it looks like,” insisted Friday that Tua Tagovailoa did not have a concussion entering Thursday night’s game in Cincinnati but came out of it with one and as a result, his quarterback should not even think about how many games he’s likely to miss.

Tagovailoa was injured in the second quarter of Miami's 27-15 loss when slammed to the ground by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou. He was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital but discharged and cleared to fly back with the team overnight.

During the flight, Tagovailoa sat next to McDaniel, who shut down any speculation on when his quarterback could expect to be in uniform again.

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"He was bringing up to me, ‘I hope I don't miss X, Y or Z game,’ ” McDaniel said. “And I was like, 'Tua, let's stop this right now. Don't even think about a game. Let’s just think about doing everything the right way, to get the opinions that you need. And let's worry about you and your head, being a healthy human being. And then we'll worry about playing football later.’ ”

McDaniel said Tagovailoa was undergoing an MRI Friday. The results will be yet another piece of information the players' union and league will use in determining whether medical personnel and the Dolphins handled the situation this past week correctly.

Tagovailoa briefly left Sunday's game against Buffalo after his head also hit the turf on a tackle. Although reporters initially were told he'd suffered a head injury on the second-quarter play, it was later changed to back and ankle problems. This despite Tagovailoa staggering as he got back up and needing help to keep his balance. Tagovailoa was cleared to return to the game at halftime and played the entire second half.

Late Thursday night, DeMaurice Smith, head of the NFL Players Association, texted former player rep Andrew Whitworth to express his anger.

“We insisted on these rules to avoid exactly this scenario," Smith wrote. "We will pursue every legal option, including making referrals against the doctors to licensing agencies and the team that is obligated to keep our players safe.”

Dr. Allen Sills, the league's chief medical officer, said on NFL Network that the NFL will release findings of the investigation.

"We want to be as transparent and open at this as possible," Sills said.

Sills said the investigation will involve team trainers, doctors affiliated and unaffiliated with the Dolphins and Tagovailoa himself. Video and data will be reviewed.

"There are very serious consequences if the protocol was determined not to have been followed," Sills said.

After playing in the Thursday night slot, the Dolphins have the weekend off and won’t play again until visiting the New York Jets on Oct. 9. McDaniel said backup Teddy Bridgewater would start in games Tagovailoa misses and rookie Skylar Thompson would back him up.

Several times, McDaniel said Tagovailoa did not sustain a concussion Sunday.

“I know what it looks like,” McDaniel said, conceding that Tagovailoa getting up woozy leaves many thinking it was a head injury.

The list of doubters includes former quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who helped mentor Tagovailoa when both were on the Dolphins in 2020.

"It sure looked like a 'no go' and unfortunately, someone’s going to pay the price for it, because it was a bad scene today," Fitzpatrick said on Amazon Prime Video's postgame show.

McDaniel had said Monday that Tagovailoa no longer was in concussion protocol.

Sills said Tagovailoa "absolutely" was checked in the three days between games because it's part of the protocol for any player tested for a concussion during a game.

"I know that this player was checked every day leading up to the game," Sills said.

One of the biggest questions is whether any injuries sustained Sunday were exacerbated Thursday.

"It's impossible to know that, but certainly that’s one of the factors we want to look at," Sills said.

McDaniel said teammates were "elated" to see Tagovailoa join them for the flight home. With Tagovailoa sitting next to him, McDaniel got a handle on his quarterback's health.

"I kind of was asking him questions about how he was feeling," McDaniel said. "And that happened for about 15 or 20 minutes. And then he pulled out his phone and started playing my cult favorite classic movie 'MacGruber' that he watched and was like laughing with me."

McDaniel said Tagovailoa admitted he had a headache but his personality "was definitely 'normal Tua.' " By morning, he still had a headache, McDaniel added.

With his voice cracking with emotion, McDaniel added, "I'll never be comfortable with a player getting carted off the field — ever."

Hal Habib covers the Dolphins for The Post. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Mike McDaniel: Games secondary to Tua Tagovailoa's health