Miami Dolphins quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater remain in the league's concussion protocol and there is no definitive timeline for either player's return, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Monday.
Underscoring that his focus was on getting Tagovailoa healthy, McDaniel said his starting quarterback is not ready to return to football activity yet and is being evaluated every 12 to 24 hours. Tagovailoa has been at the team facility, however.
As for Bridgewater, McDaniel noted that the backup quarterback did not have concussion symptoms on Sunday or Monday, but is being treated as if he has a concussion due to the updated concussion protocols announced by the NFL and NFL Players Association on Saturday.
Rookie signal-caller Skylar Thompson took over when Bridgewater was ruled out Sunday. If Bridgewater or Tagovailoa are unavailable in Week 6 against the Minnesota Vikings, Thompson would presumably get the start.
Should Bridgewater clear protocols, he could potentially be back on the practice field in a limited capacity on Thursday, per McDaniel.
Bridgewater, who started in relief of Tagovailoa this past Sunday, was subsequently ruled out of Miami's Week 5 loss to the New York Jets in accordance with the updated concussion protocol.
Effective this past weekend, the specific modification was that the diagnosis of "ataxia" was added to the mandatory "no-go" symptoms that establish whether a player can resume play.
In their joint statement on Saturday, the NFL and NFLPA said ataxia "is defined as abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue."
