Tua Tagovailoa is healthy, he says, but on paper things don’t look so good. Though the Dolphins QB suffered a hip injury (not his first one) during a loss against the Houston Texans in Week 15, he finished the game and even played next week vs the 49ers (a 29-17 win). However, despite Tagovailoa’s optimism, Mike McDaniel is clear. And the QB’s friend Tyreek Hill? Well, a bit sad. But before we get to that…

Notably, this is not the first time the 26-year-old has suffered due to hip-related issues. Back in 2019, during his final season at Alabama, the player—a potential  #1 pick the following year—was injured late in the second quarter vs Mississippi State. Two defenders had reportedly tackled him, driving his right knee into the turf. Initially, he was reportedly not able to put any weight on his leg. As per orthopaedic surgeon David Geier, it was not clear whether that injury would affect his career.

Having said that, there’s no need to worry. McDaniel has confirmed that Tagovailoa’s recent injury is not related to his prior one. But yet, there’s a sense of caution that the coach has maintained—the QB has been benched for the Week 17 matchup despite his wish to play. So, when the reporters asked Tagovailoa’s friend, Tyreek Hill about McDaniel’s decision, the WR seemed a bit sad but optimistic…

On December 29, former ESPN and current Palm Beach Post journalist Joe Schad posted a video of Hill during a media interaction, talking at length about Tagovailoa. “Tua is a real competitor. I know and I’ve seen him practice all week, seen that he wanted to play. He understood what is at stake. He’s just like every other guy…You have to force him off the field. So, basically, it was the staff that was trying to save a player from a player…And Tua being him, he’s going to be a pro about it, support his teammates, do every thing he has to do to make whoever he is is playing in his spot, they’re going to take care of business..He did a good job of that today…”

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Tagovailoa was reportedly limited in his three practices this week, and then downgraded from questionable to play to doubtful on December 27. Yet, earlier this week he had downplayed his injury saying, “It’s good…It’s just like anyone else on the team and anyone else around the league. You get banged up little bit towards the ending of the year so just got to take care of that.”

Nevertheless, it is clearly a team decision to control the decision, which was amply evident from McDaniel’s revelations…

After Tyreek Hill, Mike McDaniel defended his decision

Tyreek Hill wants his quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the field. But like his team, he too supports what Mike McDaniel and other coaches decided for the QB. Now, if we look from Mike McDaniel’s perspective, he arguably made the right decision.

During a post-game presser, the Dolphins HC said, “You try to forecast how things will heal based upon the only thing that you have to work with, which is the previous week’s forecast…So, we were hoping and anticipating for a timeline similar to that, and as the week progressed, we didn’t see the improvement we’d hoped. … Ultimately, he absolutely wanted to play. It wasn’t a pain tolerance thing; that was not in the equation for him.”

“… The main thing was that he not only was super susceptible to a much more significant injury based upon that injury, if he were to fall in harm’s way, but a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury and his inability as we forecast to protect himself and his teammates within the pocket doing the things that he normally has to do.”

According to the coach, Tagovailoa does not have that much strength to play being injured, as this might worsen his case. Well, no doubt we all know Tagovailoa’s consistency in past injuries.

Hopefully, a well-rested Tagovailoa might be better for the team in the future.