Tua Tagovailoa Not in Concussion Protocol, Status for Dolphins vs. Bengals TBD

The head coach of the Miami Dolphins told reporters on Monday that he wasn't going to assume that starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would be able to play on Thursday night.

Marcel Louis-Jacques @Marcel_LJ

Mike McDaniel said Tua is sore right now, which they expected. Added that he's nursing some ankle soreness as well but too early to make a statement one way or the other if Tua will play Thursday:

"I don't assume anything."

Marcel Louis-Jacques @Marcel_LJ

Tua Tagovailoa is not in concussion protocol, per Mike McDaniel

During Sunday's win over the Bills, Tagovailoa appeared to suffer a head injury. He left the game in the second quarter and was questionable to return for the rest of the game.

The Dolphins went through the league's concussion protocol, but the head coach and quarterback both said they were dealing with back issues.

Cameron Wolfe @CameronWolfe

Mike McDaniel says he’s very sensitive to player safety & everyone kept checking on Tua Tagovailoa’s head despite him insisting it was his back and got annoyed. He said he wouldn’t have put Tua back in if there were any red flags and this is exact reason protocols are in place.

When it happened, it was sore. Any competitor that wouldn't want to come out would have done the same thing, Tagovailoa said. I was trying my hardest to get back up and running.

After getting up after the hit that caused him to leave the game, Tagovailoa told reporters his back locked up and caused him to fall.

In the first three games of the season, the third-year quarterback has completed 71.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for 955 yards and eight scores.

The Dolphins are off to a great start.

The addition of star wideout Tyreek Hill and the new offensive scheme put in place by first-year head coach McDaniel appears to have helped Tagovailoa take the next step after ho-hum efforts in his first two seasons.

If he can't go in Week 4 against the Cincinnati, Teddy Bridgewater would be the starter.