Everything Mike McDaniel said about Tua Tagavailoa after QB suffers concussion

The Miami Dolphins have unfortunately seen a situation like what took place on Thursday night multiple times. During the team's Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa lowered his helmet while running for a first down, and made contact with safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa went down, raised his arms involuntarily, then grabbed at his head as medical personnel rushed to his aid. Tagovailoa did leave under his own power, but was ruled out for the rest of the game quickly with a concussion.

Back in 2022, the Dolphins saw Tagovailoa suffer two concussions, one of which resulted in the quarterback entering a fencing position and having to be carted off the field in Cincinnati in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, this is Tagovailoa's third concussion in two years, raising concerns about his well-being.

After the game, head coach Mike McDaniel spoke to reporters about the status of his quarterback.

Everything Mike McDaniel said about Tua Tagovailoa in Week 2 postgame press conference after QB suffers concussion

McDaniel was asked what his immediate thought was when seeing Tagovailoa go down with the head injury. The head coach, overcome with emotion, was said that his thought was "concern," and that he was "just worried about my guy."

While Tagovailoa was walking off the field, McDaniel was walking alongside him to make sure he was okay, and gave him a kiss on the head when departing with trainers.

With this being Tagovailoa's third concussion, McDaniel was asked about how the team will handle this injury. McDaniel said he wasn't worried about things out of his control and his focus was on "the human being." McDaniel did say that this was a "day-by-day" situation.

"For me, I'm not worried about anything that's out of my hands, I'm just worried about the human being, and he'll drive the ship when we get the appropriate situation," said McDaniel. "But it's day-by-day health...trying to approach all of the stuff that way, particularly with concussions."

McDaniel did say, per ESPN, that Tagovailoa was in good spirits after the game. The Dolphins head coach also said that seeing Tagovailoa suffer a concussion is "not something you ever want to be a part off."

At the end of the game, Amazon sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung revealed that Tagovailoa was awake and alert and had movements in all of his extremities. Tagovailoa was with his family in the locker room after being ruled out for the game.

McDaniel revealed that Tagovailoa will be at the team's facility on Friday to receive the appropriate medical care regarding his concussion.

UPDATE: McDaniel spoke with reporters on Friday morning, revealing that Skylar Thompson will be the team's starting quarterback with Tagovailoa sidelined and that they will look into bringing in another quarterback as depth.

McDaniel said that he's looking to put his health "as the primary," and won't address his concussion "from a football standpoint."

"...science behind concussions tells you how delicate the time is right after an injury & how important it is you don't institute extra sources of anxiety," said McDaniel, h/t NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe.

McDaniel said that he would prefer if people would not talk about Tagovailoa's playing future, adding that it's "not in the best interest of him."

Regarding what he told Tagovailoa as he walked off the field on Thursday night, McDaniel said that he's "the starting quarterback of his family," and told him "go in the locker room, take a deep breath, and I'll see you soon."

We will continue to keep you updated on Tagovailoa's status once additional information is provided.