Tua and Other Injury Concerns

Miami Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa's status for the game against Cincinnati likely won't be determined until game day

Alain Poupart | Dec 3, 2020

It likely won't be until game day that we'll find out whether Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be making his return to the lineup.

As he was all of last week before sitting out the Dolphins' 20-3 victory against the New York Jets, Tagovailoa was limited in practice Wednesday when the team began its preparations for their game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

"We'll take it one day at a time," head coach Brian Flores said Thursday morning. "Both quarterbacks practiced yesterday. And we’ll just take one day at a time and see how we progresses throughout the week and make a decision come Sunday.”

Tagovailoa was listed as questionable on the final injury report last week before being downgraded to doubtful Saturday.

On the day of the Jets game, NFL reporter Mike Garafolo suggested the thumb injury could force a "multi-game absence," though Flores said after the game that Tagovailoa was very close to playing against the Jets.

Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick would make his eighth start of the season if Tagovailoa can't play against Cincinnati.

“We’ll see how it goes over the course of the week," Flores said. "It’s Thursday. I know you guys want to know right now if he’s playing, if he’s not playing. But we’ve still got two days of practice here and, like always, we’re going to make the best decision for the team.”

On the first injury report of this week, Tagovailoa was one of three players listed as limited participants along with RB Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) and guard Solomon Kindley (foot).

Both players missed the game against the Jets because of their injuries.

If Kindley is ready to go against Cincinnati, the Dolphins then would have to decide whether to go back to their original starting offensive line with Austin Jackson, Ereck Flowers, Ted Karras, Kindley and Jesse Davis, or stick with Davis at right guard and Robert Hunt at right tackle.

Rookie running back/wide receiver Malcolm Perry (chest) and running back DeAndre Washington (hamstring) both sat out practice Wednesday.

Fellow rookie Lynn Bowden Jr. got additional playing time against the Jets after Perry left the game against the Jets.

Running back Myles Gaskin also practiced, but he's not part of the official injury report because he's still on injured reserve because of the knee injury that has caused him to miss the past four games.

Published Dec 3, 2020

ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.