Here’s another sign Tagovailoa’s hip is trending in the right direction
It appears Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has cleared another significant hurdle in his return from the gruesome hip injury he sustained in college.
The Dolphins did not list Tagovailoa on the injury report this week as they prepare for Sunday’s game against the rival Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Typically, NFL teams list payers on their injury reports if they receive treatment on an injury or to determine if injuries limited their availability in practice in any fashion.
Tagovailoa was listed on the Week 1 injury report for the hip, but was a full participant in practice leading up to the the season opener.
And now, he’s off the list altogether.
“He’s doing well. He’s really going into, from a rehab standpoint or a strength training standpoint, he’s doing what everyone else is doing. So, we felt like we could take him off [the injury report],” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said Thursday.
Tagovailoa’s body continues to make sharp progress nearly 10 months after sustaining the hip dislocation and posterior wall fracture in his final game with the Alabama Crimson Tide in November.
Tagovailoa was a full participant in training camp practices last month, practiced in Week 1 and
was available to play in Miami’s season-opening loss to the New England Patriots.
Miami’s release of former quarterback Josh Rosen, leaving veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tagovailoa as the only quarterbacks on the roster, a week before the season was also a positive indication of Tagovailoa’s recovery.
“He’s doing well physically and mentally, and getting practice reps and trying to improve from a football standpoint, from a learning and being a professional standpoint like all rookies. He’s doing well. And he’s learning,” Flores said of Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa may not yet be ready to push Fitzpatrick for the starting job just yet, but he’s making strides toward that possibility.
While seemingly taking a cautious approach with Tagovailoa, his long-term health appears to be a factor rather than trotting him out prematurely.
“From a health standpoint, obviously it was a serious injury and he’s done a great job as far as getting himself back healthy and getting himself to a point where he can practice and take a lot of reps,” Flores said. “He’s trending in the right direction from a health standpoint.”