Tua Tagovailoa Ruled Out Of Miami Dolphins’ Playoff Game Against Buffalo Bills

The Miami Dolphins scratched and clawed their way through the 2022-2023 NFL regular season and finally earned their spot in the seventh seed on Sunday (Jan. 8) with an 11-6 win over the New York Jets. Their potential to advance beyond the first round is now in serious jeopardy, as their starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out of their upcoming playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.

Miami Dolphins’ head coach Mike McDaniels announced the unfortunate news on Wednesday (Jan. 11,) ESPN Insider Adam Schefter reported. The 24-year-old was unable to clear concussion protocol, and the Dolphins are preparing to move forward with their rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson on Saturday (Jan. 15).

The 2022 NFL passer rating leader took a hard hit during the Dolphins’ Sept. 25 game against the Bills, where many were concerned as to whether he was concussed or not. Tua was ruled to have a back injury and started the following week against the Cincinnati Bengals where he suffered another hard hit that left him lying on the turf with his forearms raised and fingers contorted. The young star was stretchered off of the field and missed the next four weeks of action after officially being diagnosed with a concussion.

The former Alabama Crimson Tide star suffered the same injury during the Dolphins’ Christmas Day matchup against the Green Bay Packers and missed the rest of the regular season. His team still managed to make the playoffs, but there is a serious reason for concern about their chances against the AFC’s No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills without him at the helm.

The Dolphins were 8-4 this season with Tua behind center for an entire game, notably edging the Bills by a score of 21-19 despite the quarterback’s aforementioned “back injury” during their week three matchup. Without the 2017 College Football Playoff national champion, the team was 1-4.

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