The Extra Point: Mike McDaniel Provides Update on Tua Tagovailoa's 2024 Status

The Miami Dolphins head coach shared whether or not he expects Tua Tagovailoa to play again this season.

Sep 30, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) looks on from the bench against the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

According to Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, former Alabama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's 2024 season is not over. Beyond that, however, there is no definitive update on the signal caller's timetable as he continues to recover from a concussion suffered in September during a game against Buffalo.

Tagovailoa has a well-documented concussion history. One effect of this was that a number of individuals across the football world were calling for him to retire following his latest head injury, which landed him on injured reserve. The earliest he could return from an eligibility standpoint is Oct. 27.

The quarterback does have one major variable at play now that was not there during the disastrous 2022 campaign which saw him suffer multiple head injuries: a contract in excess of $200 million, $212.4 million to be exact. If Tagovailoa, who turned 26 years old this past March, were to retire now, he would likely be walking away from a chunk of that money. He did consider calling it a career during the aforementioned 2022 campaign.

His career earnings to date are far from miniscule. Such is life for a quarterback selected with a top five draft pick who has led the league in passing yards before. Even so, it has been fewer than three calendar months as of this writing since he signed that gargantuan contract extension (July 26). He didn't make it two before getting concussed again, and the objectively concerning pattern of these injuries for Tagovailoa makes it fair in the view of some to call into question whether he should decide to walk away from the game in service of long-term health.