Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss another game due to concussion, confirmed head coach Mike McDaniel.
Tagovailoa was highly unlikely to feature in Sunday's game against Minnesota Vikings despite returning to the practice field this week, but McDaniel declared he would not play on Wednesday.
The Dolphins QB has not played since being concussed in the Week 4 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on September 29.
Tagovailoa's replacement, Teddy Bridgewater, was also concussed in their Week 5 game against the New York Jets, meaning rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson will make his first career start versus the Vikings.
"Now, when talking about this week and playing, I don't see a scenario - I don't see him being active. I do not plan to have him play at all," McDaniel told reporters about Tagovailoa.
"As far as his exact timeline of when he's going to play, I'll be excited to consider that whenever that comes up. Right now, I'm just really focused on him getting out there and feeling good and being around his teammates, and that those types of decisions aren't in the immediate future right now. I'll handle that when that comes after."
McDanel revealed Tagovailoa may pass concussion protocol the Week 6 game but that the Dolphins would not rush him back despite being depleted in that department with Bridgewater out.
"He hasn't done a thing on the football field for literally two weeks," McDaniel said.
"I don't think that that would be fair to the player. That wouldn't be fair to the team… I don't feel comfortable putting him in that situation."
Tagovailoa was stretchered off and briefly hospitalized after hitting his head on the turf and being concussed against the Bengals.
That came only four days after a similar incident against the Buffalo Bills where he was evaluated for concussion at halftime, having appeared unstable on his feet but cleared to play on.
The incident led to the NFL Players' Association conducting a review of the league's concussion protocol, which was amended last week to include ataxia as a symptom. Bridgewater was the first player impacted by the protocol change in Week 5.
The Dolphins are on a two-game losing streak, sitting 3-2 after beginning the 2022 season with three successive wins.
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