Thursday Practice Report: What's Going On with Tua?

Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa continues to be limited

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) drops back against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The status of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa continues to be a mystery, but actions maybe spoke louder than words Thursday.

Offensive coordinator Frank Smith was pretty vague, as would be expected because the Dolphins don't want to divulge too much at this time for strategic reasons, but then Tagovailoa was observed doing practically nothing but standing around during the portion of practice open to the media.

For a second consecutive day, it was Tyler "Snoop" Huntley and Skylar Thompson who did the throwing during the early part of practice.

Tagovailoa likely will be listed as limited on the injury report that will be produced later Thursday afternoon, but still looking like somebody who's a long shot to play against the New York Jets in the must-win Week 18 game at MetLife Stadium.

Head coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday he was preparing on that day as though Huntley was the starting quarterback for the Jets game, but that things could change if Tua made enough progress throughout the week.

There was nothing during the open portion of practice Thursday to suggest that progress has happened or even begun.

The three players who were not spotted at practice Thursday were tackle Terron Armstead, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. and safety Jordan Poyer, all of whom are dealing with injuries.

FRANK SMITH'S COMMENTS ABOUT TUA

When he spoke before practice, Smith was asked whether anything had changed regarding McDaniel's statement about Huntley being the starter at this moment.

He pretty much danced around the question.

“I think that this time of year, we're really working through each day, just making sure we're getting guys ready for a process and we're just evaluating where we're at each day," Smith said. "So right now, it's Thursday. Making sure where we're at right now, Friday, Saturday, all the way to the game. So that way, we'll know who we can go to the game with and put him in the best position possible.

"A player, they want to be able this time here to go out and execute where you can play with their teammates. So I mean he's being aggressive with his rehabbing, his approach to get ready to play but ultimately we're just making sure that we put everyone in the best position possible so we can execute and have a great day versus the Jets.

"Yeah, I think it's easy to sit back and go, OK, these are the things that could happen, and then how do they impact things? Ultimately, it goes into a player's ability to execute his job and also be healthy enough to handle the things that could occur. So I think that we try and make sure that our guys are good to go through our medical process and our communication so that way we can have guys play effectively and they're not putting themselves in a position where it's just, hey, I can do this but I can't do that. It's like we want guys to be able to be able to go and perform and do what we need to do to win."