Dolphins Tua, Bridgewater sidelined for Vikings game
MIAMI - The Miami Dolphins will keep starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and backup QB Teddy Bridgewater on the sidelines for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Mike McDaniel said that on Wednesday Tagovailoa was allowed to go out and throw, and do individual work, but that was about it.
"I don't see a scenario, I don't see him being active, and I don't plan to have him play at all,"
Bridgewater is still unable to do anything football related with the team at this stage of the concussion protocol. He can return on a limited basis on Thursday.
Bridgewater took a hard hit from New York Jets cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner on the Dolphins first offensive snap last Sunday.
The veteran quarterback was listed with a head and elbow injury and was immediately taken to the locker room and evaluated for a concussion. McDaniel said after the game that Bridgewater didn't show any concussion symptoms and passed tests, but a spotter saw Bridgewater stumble after the play.
Bridgewater was ruled ineligible to return because of the NFL's revised protocols put into place after Tagovailoa took a hit against Buffalo last month.
Against the Bills, Tagovailoa wobbled when he got up after slamming hard to the turf, but he was cleared to return at the start of the third quarter, to the surprise of many.
Tagovailoa was later found to have a back injury, not a concussion.
On Saturday, the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to make changes to the league's concussion protocol following a joint investigation into the handling of Tagovailoa's injury. The league and players' union said in a joint statement that while the Dolphins followed protocol after the injury, the outcome of the Tagovailoa case "was not what was intended when the Protocol was drafted."
As a result, they added language addressing abnormality of balance/stability to the league's list of symptoms that would keep a player from returning to the game.
Bridgewater started last Sunday in place of Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion in Miami's Sept. 29 game against Cincinnati, four days after taking the hit against Buffalo.
The Dolphins are moving forward with plans to have Skylar Thompson start Sunday. Thompson finished 19 of 33 for 166 yards and an interception in his NFL debut against the Jets.
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