An emotional week for the Dolphins ends with Tua Tagovailoa concussed and his future uncertain

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Earlier in this turbulent week for the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel joked that enough people had seen him cry.

The Dolphins coach was referring to a news conference in which he held back tears as he reflected on a controversial traffic stop involving Tyreek Hill hours before Miami’s season opener. Five days later, McDaniel sat down for another news conference less than 24 hours after a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills, and again he couldn’t hide his emotions.

Their quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, is in the concussion protocol, dealing with his third diagnosed concussion in three years after colliding head-on with defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head on the turf.

McDaniel ran onto the field to check on Tagovailoa, who stood up after a few minutes and was helped up by trainers. As McDaniel walked with Tagovailoa toward the sideline, he gave his quarterback a kiss on the side of the head.

“I told him he’s the starting quarterback in his family,” McDaniel said Friday morning, speaking slowly and somberly as he recounted the moment, “and to go into the locker room, take a deep breath and I’ll see him soon.”

Thursday’s game was partly about moving past another emotional event that Miami players and coaches described as triggering and troubling.

All-Pro receiver Hill has been at the center of a renewed national debate over police use of force after body camera footage showed a traffic stop quickly escalating following a verbal dispute between Hill and Miami-Dade police officers.

Hill rolled up his car window despite an officer’s instructions to keep it open. After an exchange about the window, the video shows an officer pulling Hill out of the car by his arm and head and then forcing him to lie face down on the ground near Hard Rock Stadium. Officers handcuffed Hill and one of them put a knee in the middle of his back.

The altercation, and what was seen on the six officers’ body camera videos, has brought conversations around the experience of Black people with police back into sharp focus.

“What would have happened if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? God knows what that guy or those guys would have done,” Hill said hours after the incident. “I was just making sure I did what my uncle always told me to do when I was in a situation like that: just listen, put my hands on the wheel and just listen. You have to be careful.”

Police Department Chief Stephanie Daniels placed Officer Danny Torres on administrative duty and an internal affairs investigation is underway. The department released the identity of Torres, a 27-year veteran of the department, on Tuesday.

Hill has since said he could have handled some parts of the initial interaction better, but he and some teammates also said they could separate the incident from their football duties.

“I think that’s the beauty of this sport,” offensive lineman Terron Armstead said. “You get to escape the real-world problems for that amount of time. I think there’s no better place in the world that Tyreek could have been following that than a locker room and a football game. That’s the beauty of this sport, that you get that time to escape and get into a world that’s kind of a fantasy for us.”

Hill caught an 80-yard touchdown pass that helped Miami rally to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars that day, but Hill and the Dolphins couldn’t replicate that magic on Thursday.

Hill was limited to three receptions and 24 yards, and Miami’s offense was stifled in a 31-10 loss to the Bills.

Losing again to their division rivals was tough enough. Buffalo has won 12 of the last 13 meetings between them. That disappointment was overshadowed by fear, uncertainty and concern for Tagovailoa.

“These kinds of losses are tough,” McDaniel said. “The ones you’ve worked so hard to overcome — they’re tough, and then you get so wrapped up in them. I consider Tua like a member of my family. When your family is going through something, you know what it’s like. You try to think of a lot of different things that people are counting on me for. It’s not easy.”

Players from both teams immediately called for coaches when Tagovailoa went down after scrambling for a first down.

Tagovailoa lay on his back, with both hands in the air. It appeared he was making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was a movement consistent with something known as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a brain injury.

He was immediately diagnosed with a concussion, his third since joining the Dolphins as the fifth overall pick in 2020.

McDaniel said Friday that there are more unknowns than certainties surrounding the situation at this point. He said the Dolphins will eventually sign another quarterback, but he didn’t want to rush to judgment on timelines or Tagovailoa’s NFL future.

“In my opinion, I won’t do anything that will make things worse or hurt any of our players,” McDaniel said, “especially the players that are in the concussion protocol. Ironically, I think there are a lot of people that have a vested interest in the Miami Dolphins. There are a lot of fans and a lot of people that want to support, but literally questioning the timeline creates anxiety.”

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