What happened to Tua Tagovailoa? Dolphins QB suffers injury in loss vs. Dolphins
Just when it looked to be going so well for Tua Tagovailoa, he got injured again and had to leave the game that the Miami Dolphins eventually lost. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Dolphins 33-17 on Sunday, December 4, to add insult to the literal injury that their starting quarterback suffered. This is bad news for Tua Tagovailoa after the string of well-documented injuries he has suffered throughout his short career.
Tagovailoa endured severe injuries like hip dislocations during his time in Alabama. Even as he entered the NFL, there were doubts about whether he could take the hits and keep standing. The Hawaii-born quarterback has suffered a broken thumb, ribs, and back injuries with Miami since joining in 2020. This season, he was the face of a raging concussion issue in the NFL and missed game time because of it.
He returned from that setback and has been playing as well as he has ever played. Tua, however, had to leave the game in the 4th quarter on Sunday with an ankle injury. He did not come out for the remainder of the game, which was automatically a worrying sign for the Miami Dolphins fans. So, since he did not make it back into the game today, what does that mean for his future this season?
Tua left the game after the sack-strip-TD with under 2 minutes to go. At that point, putting him back into the game behind backup offensive tackles wasn't worth the risk. But the ankle isn't expected to be much of an issue going forward.
Tua Tagovailoa injury: When will the Dolphins QB return?
Luckily, the injury is not expected to be significant, and Tagovailoa is expected to be evaluated day-to-day rather than week-to-week. He should be back for next week's game against the Los Angeles Chargers and has a full week to recover from the injury, as the game is next Sunday.
He did not return to the field today because late in the fourth quarter, with the game almost gone, he was playing behind a makeshift offensive line. With him strip-sacked in the previous play, the Miami Dolphins did not believe that putting him in harm's way again made any sense. The game was already over by that point, and they chose to limit any further injuries to Tua Tagovailoa so that he would be available by next week.
Tua left the game after the sack-strip-TD with under 2 minutes to go. At that point, putting him back into the game behind backup offensive tackles wasn't worth the risk. But the ankle isn't expected to be much of an issue going forward.
The Dolphins will be happy to have Tua Tagovailoa next Sunday. The AFC Playoff picture is heating up, and Miami is currently the 5th seed in the AFC, but it is becoming extremely tight. The Chargers are 6-6 and on the outside but looking right in. Whoever wins the next game will improve their record and have momentum going into the season's final games.
Everything is set for a seesaw battle, and Tua Tagovailoa is expected to be right in the thick of it.