Dolphins players address Tagovailoa situation, his health and expected change in protocol

Miami Dolphins players expressed relief about Tua Tagovailoa’s health after interacting with him in recent days, in the wake of the quarterback being carted off with a concussion during Thursday’s game in Cincinnati.

“Tua’s fine,” wide receiver Tyreek Hill said Monday. ‘I had a chance to talk to him on off days. He’s in good hands. I saw him in the locker room a minute ago and he’s smiling ear-to-ear.”

Tagovailoa remains in concussion protocol and will miss Sunday’s game at the Jets, and potentially additional games.

Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah said players spoke to Tagovailoa on the plane ride home from Cincinnati and “he seemed fine, seemed great.”

Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said: “He’s better now. He’s himself, bringing great energy.”

Meanwhile, the NFL and union reportedly have agreed to a change in concussion protocol that would require a player who exhibits gross motor instability to be removed from the game.

If that rule had been in place during the Dolphins’ Week 3 game against Buffalo, Tagovailoa likely would not have been permitted to continue playing through what multiple doctors said was a back injury, not a head injury.

Asked if that new rule is a good thing in general, Jaelan Phillips said: “That’s fair. It’s always better to be overcautious when it comes to head injuries. You have to take the training staff’s words for that. It’s a complicated situation. The league and PA are doing everything to keep us safe.”

Phillips — who had two concussions at UCLA and briefly retired from football — was asked about the challenges of recovering from one.

“It varies for everybody,” he said. “There are different types of symptoms. Some [concussed people] are sensitive to light and sound. Some get really nauseous and dizzy. I recovered really fast, a week or two weeks.”

Head injuries have been an unfortunate part of the game for decades.

“It’s an assumed risk,” Phillips said. “It’s obviously something prevalent in the game. That’s what we sign up for. You don’t wish it upon anybody. You surely don’t wish it upon yourself. It’s a violent game. We are compensated well for it.

“Ultimately, health is the most important thing. With head injuries, you have to be cautious with that. [But] people do recover from those type of things.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Cornerback Byron Jones is eligible to return from the physically unable to perform list this week, but coach Mike McDaniel said that decision hasn’t been made..

Jones wasn’t participating in practice on Monday. Instead, he was working with a trainer, on the sidelines, in gym clothes.

A player who begins training camp and then the regular season on the PUP list is permitted to practice 21 days before he must either be placed on the 53-man roster, placed on injured reserve or released.

The 21-day clock hasn’t yet been triggered for Jones.

Jones has been sidelined since March surgery in the ankle/Achilles injury.

▪ Terron Armstead (toe maintanance), Cethan Carter (concussion protocol), Xavien Howard (has been dealing with a groin injury) and Trey Flowers (undisclosed) all missed practice on Monday.

▪ The Dolphins, who need a third quarterback while Tagovailoa heals, signed Reid Sinnett to the practice squad.

He’s the third healthy quarterback in the Dolphins’ building, joining Teddy Bridgewater (who will start Sunday at the Jets) and Skylar Thompson, who will be the No. 2 quarterback while Tagovailoa remains out.

Sinnett spent parts of the past two seasons on the Dolphins’ practice squad — and several weeks on their 53-man roster — before being released last Oct. 23.

The Eagles immediately claimed him off waivers and he spent the 2022 offseason and preseason with the Eagles.

Philadelphia released Sinnett on Aug. 30, signed him to their practice squad on Aug. 31 and released him Sept. 7. He has not appeared in a regular season game but played well for the Dolphins in their 2021 preseason finale at Cincinnati.

▪ Wilkins is appealing the NFL’s $13,261 fine, which stemmed from an incident with Josh Allen during the Buffalo game. After Allen was penalized for grabbing Wilkins’ face mask, Allen gestured that Wilkins grabbed at an area near his groin.

“I don’t agree with what is being accused of me or how things were handled,” Wilkins said.

▪ With the Jets on this week’s schedule, Hill was asked how close he was to joining the Jets this past offseason, via a trade.

“It was very close to happening but it was just those state taxes, man,” he said. “I realized I had to make a grown-up decision and here I am in a great city in Miami. It’s great weather. Great people. Beautiful people. Here I am.”

▪ Hill wants improvement from the receiver group, which has been one of the strengths of the team so far.

“The message to the receiver room is we’ve got to be better,” Hill said. “To open up more lanes and more gaps, the receivers have to block down the field....

“If we begin to get comfortable with who we are as offense, bad things will happen and teams will start to figure us out. If we continue to work on... fundamentals and techniques, that will help us move forward.”