Tua Tagovailoa’s backup taken aback by QB’s concussion: “It makes me sick”
The Miami Dolphins suffered a 31-10 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills on the season debut of Thursday Night Football at Hard Rock Stadium. However, the more pressing issue for the team was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's injury.
With his team trailing 31-10 late in the third quarter, the 26-year-old dove headfirst into Bills cornerback Damar Hamlin on a fourth-and-4 play to move the chains, but at the personal cost of another traumatic head injury.
Tagovailoa's sacrifice was in vain, as the Dolphins offense couldn't move the ball on their next three plays, and quarterback Skylar Thompson was sacked on fourth-and-goal, turning the ball over on downs.
In the post-game press conference, the backup was asked about his teammate's injury. The 27-year-old couldn't hide his frustration, saying:
"It makes me sick... In my position [as the backup], you never want the opportunity to come with something like that. Have a lot of love for Tua. Built a great relationship with him. And you care about the person more than the player. Everybody in the organization would say the same thing. So really just praying for Tua, and hopefully everything will come out alright."
Tagovailoa was diagnosed with a concussion minutes after he exited the game. Patrick Mahomes and JJ Watt expressed their concern about the injury on X, but thankfully, head coach Mike McDaniel had a positive update about the quarterback's health.
In the post-game press conference, he said that Tagovailoa was conscious and in good spirits in the locker room.
Tagovailoa will enter the concussion protocol and will likely miss the Dolphins' road trip to Seattle against the Seahawks in Week 3. Thompson is expected to start the game, and his head coach believes he can help them score a win.
Mike McDaniel confident Tua Tagovailoa's backup Skylar Thomspon can fill in for QB
During the post-game press conference, McDaniel was asked whether the Dolphins had an estimate about when Tagovailoa would return.
The coach said the team wasn't concerned about when the quarterback would return to the field and that their priority was to ensure he recovered fully from his latest concussion. McDaniel also threw his support behind Thompson, saying:
"I don’t know what our timeline is. I’m not concerned with that. We played with Skylar as a rookie with the season on the line and found a way to win an elimination game.”
The backup quarterback started the Dolphins' final two games of the 2022 season after Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in their Week 16 loss against the Green Bay Packers.
Miami narrowly lost the first game against the New England Patriots but beat the New York Jets in Week 18 to earn a spot in the playoffs. Thompson also started in their gut-wrenching 34-31 loss a week later in the wild card round.
The third-year quarterback is no stranger to pressure situations and will likely be the Dolphins' starter under center until Tagovailoa is cleared to play.