Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday that Tua Tagovailoa will practice on Wednesday for the first time since he suffered a concussion on Sept. 12, and the team is hopeful he will be able to play in its Week 8 game against the Cardinals.
Tagovailoa will need to clear the league's concussion protocol in order to play on Sunday.
"Our plan is to start him practicing on Wednesday," McDaniel said. "The clearing (of the league's concussion protocol) doesn't come until after some of the activity, but we're doing so in the hope of everything going well so that he can play Sunday. But that is to be determined."
McDaniel added: "The reason he's coming back now is because the medical experts have deemed it safe for him to return. So I don't mess with timelines or try to overcook or forecast. You lean on experts on matters of the career, and that's what we're doing here."
Tagovailoa told reporters later on Monday that he was "very excited" to return to action and said that it has been "frustrating" to watch from the sidelines for the past month.
The Dolphins (2-4) placed Tagovailoa on injured reserve on Sept. 17, a move that sidelined him for a minimum of four games. Due to Miami's Week 6 bye, Sunday's game against the Cardinals marks the earliest potential date for a return to the field.
Tagovailoa told reporters that he has felt symptom-free since "the next day after" he suffered a concussion during Miami's Week 2 loss to the Bills, when he collided with Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa was asked if he agreed with the decision to be placed on IR.
"What I do know is that the team did what was best in the interest of me in that I'm a competitor," Tagovailoa said. "And given what the doctors have told me that having a substantial amount of time to rest and recover would have been good for me. I think they did what was best in terms of protecting myself from myself."
Tagovailoa said Monday that he would not wear a Guardian Cap during games, calling the decision a "personal choice." The NFL has permitted players to wear Guardian Caps during regular-season games for the first time this year in an effort to increase player health and safety and prevent head injuries.
The September concussion was the third one that Tagovailoa has been diagnosed with since the 2022 season. He missed five games, including a postseason contest, due to concussions in 2022. In Week 4 of that season, Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field against the Cincinnati Bengals and missed the following two games. Then on Christmas of that year, he was again concussed in a game against the Green Bay Packers and sat out the remainder of the season.
As a result of his concussion history, many expressed concern for Tagovailoa's long-term health and openly asked if he should consider retirement.
"I appreciate your concern," Tagovailoa said on Monday. "I really do. I love this game, and I love it to the death of me. That's it."
Tagovailoa later added when asked if he has discussed with doctors the potential effects of repeated concussions: "I think the brain … there's just a gray area when it comes to that. If you do know that you're going to get long-term disease from it. I just think that there's a lot of gray with it. For me, this is what I love to do. This is what makes me happy, and I'm going to do it. That's it."
Tagovailoa said that this latest injury would not affect his honesty when with a team trainer in a potential future scenario; he later compared the risk of a future head injury to the risks associated with day-to-day life.
"How much risk do we take when we get up in the morning to go drive to work? You can get in a car crash. Everything, I think, takes risk," Tagovailoa said on Monday. "So, to answer that question, every time we all suit up we're taking a risk that we can potentially get hurt. Whether it's a concussion or a broken bone, anything. You get up off the bed the wrong way you can potentially risk you spraining your ankle. There's just risk in any and everything. I'm willing to play the odds. That's it."
