Tua Tagovailoa was listed as a limited participant for the Miami Dolphins practice on Wednesday after suffering a hip injury.
The concerns about the starting quarterback’s fitness come as a huge blow to Miami, three days after their 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans, leaving their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
With a 6-8 record, the Dolphins are in need of a miracle heading into the final three weeks of the regular season, making Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers a must-win.
Still, there are fears they could once again be without Tagovailoa, who missed four games earlier this season with a concussion before returning in late October.
After going 1-3 in his absence, Mike McDaniel’s team has gone 4-4 since their quarterback’s return, giving them a mountain to climb in the playoff hunt.
They also suffered another injury scare in Sunday’s loss to the Texans when receiver Grant DuBose was on the ground for nearly 15 minutes after taking a blow to the head.
Tua Tagovailoa was listed as a limited participant for the Miami Dolphins practice on Wednesday
The game was stopped for more than 12 minutes while medics worked on DuBose before he was carted off the field and transported to a local hospital.
While kneeling over him, doctors reportedly unscrewed his helmet and put on an oxygen mask.
He was hooked up to an ECG machine when he left on a board, with his neck in a brace.
Medical personnel working on DuBose cut his uniform top off of him. They eventually placed him on a board before putting him on the stretcher, wheeling him off the field and taking him to Memorial Hermann Medical Center.
But after spending three days in hospital, the 23-year-old was expected to return home on Wednesday. A day earlier, he was placed on injured reserve to end his 2024 season.
After his teammate’s sickening injury, Tagovailoa blamed himself for putting DuBose in danger.
“I’m my biggest critic when it comes to ball placement, when it comes to knowing where to go with the ball and all that,” he said. during his post-match press conference.
It’s the latest blow for the Dolphins after receiver Grant DuBose was carted off Sunday
Tagovailoa blames himself for the terrifying hit that sent teammate DuBose to the hospital
“And I just feel bad that I even put him in that situation, because he got hit. It was hard to move on after that happened.”
Tagovailoa is unfortunately familiar with the seriousness of head injuries, as he has been diagnosed with three concussions in his NFL career and has been forced to retire for his own safety.
About DuBose, he continued, “I’ve heard good news that he’s doing well, that he’s recovering, but we all know I went through something similar, and it’s not fun. You never want to find yourself in one of these situations.
‘But you also understand that this is a physical sport, a contact sport. And again, I just think about what I could have done to not put Grant in that situation.”