Tua Tagovailoa's health, which has been a hot-button topic all year, is once again for the Miami Dolphins' regular season finale against the New York Jets. Head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Friday that Tagovailoa is "unlikely" to see action in this key Week 18 matchup, thus thrusting Tyler "Snoop" Huntley into the starting job for the second week in a row.
Tagovailoa is currently dealing with a hip injury that he sustained during Miami's Week 15 loss to the Houston Texans. He played through the injury during the Dolphins' Week 16 win over the 49ers, but was inactive for Miami's Week 17 victory over the Browns. Now, it appears he'll miss another contest, and a massive one at that. In order to qualify for the postseason, Miami (8-8) needs to beat the Jets and have the Chiefs defeat the Broncos on Sunday.
McDaniel casting even more doubt on Tagovailoa's status comes after he told reporters earlier in the week that the team is approaching practice as if Huntley will start.
Huntley, 26, has split his four starts this season while playing in relief of Tagovailoa. He had arguably the best game of his NFL career during Miami's recent win over the Browns. Huntley went 22 of 26 for 225 yards that included a touchdown pass in the Dolphins' 20-3 win.
When healthy, Tagovailoa has played at a Pro Bowl-caliber level this season. A first-time Pro Bowler in 2023, Tagovailoa has completed a league-high 72.3% of his passes this season with 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions. From Weeks 12-14, Tagovailoa averaged 338 passing yards per game with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. The Dolphins went 2-1 over that stretch while staying alive in the AFC playoff race.
As noted above, the Dolphins need a win and a Broncos loss to the Chiefs in order to make the playoffs. Unfortunately for Miami, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that quarterback Patrick Mahomes and several other starters will not play as the Chiefs have already locked up the AFC's No. 1 seed.
Fortunately for Tagovailoa, he has not sustained any more head injuries since he suffered his most recent concussion in Week 2 that sidelined him for four games. Despite outside speculation, Tagovailoa said he never contemplated retirement over that span. He has somewhat adjusted his style of play while maintaining his normal level of efficiency.
