The Miami Dolphins remain in the playoff hunt heading into their final game of the regular season, but they are once again going to have to try to win with a backup quarterback.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Friday that the team is preparing for Tyler Huntley to start in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. McDaniel called it “very unlikely” that Tagovailoa will return from a hip injury, according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.
Tagovailoa sat out last week’s 20-3 win over the Cleveland Browns. Huntley played well in the game, finishing 22/26 for 225 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
The Dolphins need to beat the Jets and have the Denver Broncos lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in order to clinch a playoff berth. The Chiefs are locked into the No. 1 seed and will likely rest their starters, which is not ideal for Miami.
Tagovailoa missed several games earlier this season after he suffered another concussion. While his latest injury has nothing to do with his head, the concussion history has likely factored into how the Dolphins are handling the situation. McDaniel said earlier in the week that doctors did not feel Tagovailoa would have been able to adequately protect himself against the Browns because of the hip issue.
