Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has reportedly cleared concussion protocol and is eyeing a return to the huddle for the team’s Week 7 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tagovailoa had been in concussion protocol since he suffered a scary head injury in the team’s Week 4 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The injury was amplified because of an injury he had suffered four days earlier against the Buffalo Bills, where he wobbled off the field. Tagovailoa, though, said it was a back injury.
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Tagovailoa’s backup, Teddy Bridgewater, was also out of protocol, the Associated Press reported. He had been placed in them during the team’s Week 5 loss to the New York Jets. An ATC spotter alerted officials to pull Bridgewater out of the game due to a possible head injury.
He didn’t have any concussion symptoms, but officials were concerned about ataxia, which had recently been placed on the "no-go" list last weekend under the revised concussion rules.
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Officials described ataxia as an "abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue." The term replaced "gross motor instability" and has been added to the list of symptoms that would prohibit a player from returning to the game.
Skylar Thompson, the third string, will get the start against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Bridgewater will be the backup, and Tagovailoa will be held out.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel spoke glowingly of Thompson on Friday.
"We were really excited to draft him. That was a target of ours that we had on our mind. We didn’t have a plethora of draft selections, so it was easy to hone in on people, and we were targeting him for a long time," he said. "And that being said, he’s exceeded expectations. But he also has lived up to expectations from his play. I didn’t know how he prepared, and I didn’t know how the moments aren’t too big for him. I didn’t know that part. I kind of guessed, but what you saw on tape was a guy that was super-tough."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
