Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel provided some good news on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa heading into the team’s critical Week 17 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
While wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was ruled out due to an ankle injury, McDaniel says that Tagovailoa will play in spite of thumb and quad issues, via the Dolphins’ official YouTube account.
Tagovailoa banged his left thumb on a Dallas Cowboys’ player’s helmet during Miami’s thrilling playoff-clinching win last weekend.
While Tagovailoa popped up on the injury report earlier this week, McDaniel did not seem too concerned about it.
“I really haven’t been worried about it at all, just because I didn’t know about it during the game,” McDaniel said. “When I found out about it the day after the game, he let me know what play it was — it was in the first quarter. And he played the entire game without saying anything and has just been getting treatment on it.”
The thumb injury did not appear to slow Tagovailoa down against the Cowboys, as he went 24-for-37 with 293 yards and a touchdown, good for a 98.1 passer rating.
Tagovailoa currently leads the NFL in both passing yards (4,214) and completion percentage (70.5 percent) while also throwing 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He boasts a passer rating of 105.4.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Alabama, was selected by the Dolphins with the fifth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
After a couple of mediocre campaigns to begin his professional career, Tua Tagovailoa broke out last season, totaling 3,548 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight picks while completing 64.8 percent of his throws and posting a league-high 105.5 passer rating.
The Dolphins are 11-4 and will be fighting for the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC against the Ravens, who will go into the clash with an NFL-best record of 12-3.
Miami can also clinch the AFC East division title with a win on Sunday.
This marks the first time that the Dolphins have qualified for the playoffs in back-to-back years since the 2001-02 campaign. They have not won a playoff game since January 2001.
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