Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is expected to start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, assuming he makes it through the entire week of practice, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion in Week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals, will practice as the starter this week, McDaniel added.
In four games this season, Tagovailoa has completed 80 of 115 passes for 1,035 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Dolphins are 3-3 this season.
Tagovailoa had to be stretched off the field and taken to a hospital when he was injured against the Bengals. He had not practiced since and did not travel with the Dolphins for their game against the New York Jets on Oct. 9, a 40-17 loss. He cleared the concussion protocol but did not play in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
Four days before the Cincinnati game, Tagovailoa took a hard hit against the Buffalo Bills and appeared disoriented when he got to his feet. He was taken to the locker room and evaluated for a concussion. After he was examined and no signs of head injury were found under the NFL’s protocol, Tagovailoa returned to start the third quarter, prompting an investigation by the NFL Players Association into the handling of his injury.
The NFL and NFLPA agreed to make changes to the league’s concussion protocol, adding language addressing abnormality of balance and stability to its list of symptoms that would keep a player from returning to a game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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