Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out for Sunday’s wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills, coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday.
The third-year pro has been in the concussion protocol since Dec. 26 after suffering his second documented concussion of the season the day before in a loss to the Green Bay Packers. McDaniel said that Tagovailoa has not been cleared to resume any sort of football activities and that because of the amount of time he has already missed, McDaniel was able to rule him out.
McDaniel said the Dolphins are preparing for rookie Skylar Thompson to make his third career start Sunday; veteran Teddy Bridgewater is still working his way back from a dislocated pinkie finger on his throwing hand, and his possible availability is unclear.
The team signed nine-year veteran Mike Glennon to its practice squad last week.
Miami drafted Thompson in the seventh round in 2022 out of Kansas State, and the 25-year-old has made six appearances this season. The Dolphins’ Week 18 victory over the New York Jets represented the first time he played an NFL game start to finish, and McDaniel called attention to the difficulty of what has been asked of the rookie.