5:17 p.m. ET
Marcel Louis Jacques ESPN
MIAMI — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa put himself on the NFL concussion record a day after the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, coach Mike McDaniel said.
McDaniel said Tagovailoa had shown concussion symptoms and admitted while speaking to team doctors on Monday and was immediately placed on record. He added that he wasn’t sure which game Tagovailoa might have originally suffered the concussion on.
It is the second time this season that Tagovailoa has been included in the record.
Backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will take first-team snaps while Tagovailoa is out, but McDaniel said it’s too early to name a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
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“I just want the guys to be really right with the information that we have, the science and all the medical expertise that we’re relying on,” McDaniel said. “I care a lot about every single player, I take that very seriously. I just want him to get well and have peace of mind in that regard. … It’s about the person and that they’re okay.”
Tagovailoa previously entered concussion protocol after the Dolphins’ Week 4 game against the Cincinnati Bengals and was hospitalized briefly after his head struck the turf. He missed the team’s next two games and returned in Week 7.
Tagovailoa had suffered another hard blow four days before the Cincinnati game in a win over Buffalo. He appeared to be showing symptoms of a concussion but was evaluated and remained in the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that any player exhibiting possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — sit out the remainder of a game.
Tagovailoa said in October injuries like the one against the Bengals didn’t bother him; It was the second time in his playing career that he had been hospitalized for a football-related injury, including a dislocated hip sustained during his senior season in Alabama.
“I would say things like that bother my parents more than me just because I’m their son,” he said in October. “But I mean, I just want to go out and do good – do good for our team, do the right thing for this organization, do the right thing for the guys in the building that I see every day who work really hard. That’s all. I mean I enjoy being here. I enjoy all the people in the building. So if I’m not able to do something about it and help our team and our organization, then that really sucks.”
Tagovailoa has hit career highs in every major passing statistic this season, but the Dolphins have lost four straight games and are the No. 7 in the AFC playoffs. They can secure their first playoff spot since 2016 if they win or if they win a game and the New York Jets lose one of their remaining games.
Miami plays the Patriots and the Jets to complete the regular season schedule.