Marcel Louis Jacques, ESPNO October 23, 2024, 07:35 PM ET
Marcel-Louis Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a featured reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before moving to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers writer for the Charlotte Observer has won the APSE Breaking News Award and the South Carolina Press Association Award. For institutional writing in 2018.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Miami Dolphins players were happy to see quarterback Tua Tagovailoa back on the practice field Wednesday, perhaps no one more than wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Tagovailoa practiced for the first time since suffering a concussion on Sept. 12. He was placed on injured reserve the following week and missed the Dolphins’ next four games.
The NFL’s leading passer last season is eligible to come off IR this week, and Hill said Tagovailoa’s return brought a familiar feeling back to the practice field.
“It looked great. It felt like old times,” Hill said. “He and I connected on some deep shots today, and that’s what made me feel good today. I missed it and I missed him. I told him I should take him and his wife out to dinner because I miss him so much. He was S— so sweet, that S— — It almost made me cry today like putting him in the lineup, having him call the plays, having him direct the offense, like just hearing his voice.
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“I know it sounds crazy, but he’s a big part of this team.”
Miami is 1-3 in the four games Tagovailoa has missed. During this stretch, the Dolphins’ offense ranked last in scoring, 31st in expected offensive points added and 29th in yards per game.
Hill’s production has diminished without Tagovailoa. He’s on pace for 833 passing yards, his lowest total since his rookie season.
After connecting with the quarterback on several deep passes during Wednesday’s practice, Hill’s excitement carried over to the locker room. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said Tagovailoa completed almost every pass he threw to Hill, and that when they’re on the same page, “it usually leads to big plays.”
“It was beautiful. It was very beautiful,” Hill said. “I bet if you went to ask every single person in that locker room, just say: ‘Hey, did you just reach out to Tyreek today?’ And if they said: ‘Yes,’ the next question should be: ‘What was his reaction right after that? “I had a big cheese on my face because it felt so good like you don’t know what to do to me.”
Tagovailoa was injured after making contact to end a scramble against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. Both Tagovailoa and coach Mike McDaniel agreed that the quarterback has a responsibility to protect himself on the field moving forward.
Hill joked that he and his teammates ask Tagovailoa “all the time” to slide, and that Dolphins fans should cheer him on when he does. Running back Raheem Mostert echoed Hill’s sentiments, adding that Tagovailoa is ultimately the one in control of his actions on the field.
“Oh yeah, we’ve talked to him since he got injured,” Mostert said. I told him, ‘Hey, you need to work on your sliding.’ And we all joke and laugh, but seriously, he knows he’s got to protect himself a little better and move forward, only he can control these things face, but the one thing I would say and I always say is, “Hey, you can bring the horse To the water, but you can’t make him drink, can you?”
“We’ll get Tua in that water, but we can’t make him drink. He understands that, and he’ll do his best moving forward.”
Tagovailoa was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice. On Thursday he was promoted to full participant and can now meet with an independent neurological consultant assigned to the team and receive final clearance to play.
The No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft said he has had no symptoms since the day after he suffered a concussion, the third diagnosed during his NFL career.
