Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa avoided a concussion when he tried to make a tackle after throwing an interception in Monday night’s win over the Rams, but it was hard not to think about his concussion history when he took a knee to the helmet in the process.
Tagovailoa joked about having poor tackling form after the game and said that “when you’re playing, when you’re out there, the game is too fast for you to think of anything else” than making a play. On Tuesday, though, head coach Mike McDaniel suggested that Tagovailoa’s thought process about avoiding unnecessary hits has to extend to all plays.
“I didn’t waste much time saying something to him,” McDaniel said, via a transcript from the team. “He can’t just think about his ability to stay healthy when he has the ball, it’s also when you’re trying to make a tackle — I told him not to close his eyes next time. But yeah, I think he could also prevent that from occurring by avoiding throwing it to the other team, which he knows as well. I think there’s always things to improve upon and learn from, and he definitely had a learning moment there.”
Playing football means Tagovailoa is going to be exposed to injuries even if he never takes a risk and his history means that every hit is going to feel more ominous than it does for most other players, so anything he can do to avoid putting himself in harm’s way is going to be appreciated in Miami.
The pivot to streaming has happened, as evidenced by the audiences attracted by NFL games televised on cable and streamed by Amazon Prime.
Last week, the overnight numbers for Bengals-Ravens on Thursday night showed an audience of 13.63 million. Last night, the game on ESPN between the Dolphins and Rams racked up only 12.2 million viewers.
The disclosure from ESPN was, not surprisingly, buried in a press release touting the year-to-date MNF audiences. (Question: Why do most P.R. people think everyone else is stupid?) The reality is that the ESPN-only broadcasts are struggling in comparison to Amazon Prime’s Thursday night broadcast, which surely prompted the feather-ruffling decision to move most remaining Monday night games to ABC, too.
The Dolphins-Rams game fell into the small handful that won’t be simulcast. And, lo and behold, Amazon Prime has already caught ESPN. The only question is whether and when Prime games will perform like three-letter broadcast networks.
After the Dolphins claimed linebacker Tyrel Dodson off waivers from Seattle, they needed to make a corresponding move.
Miami announced it has placed tight end Tanner Conner on injured reserve. Conner injured his knee in the first half of Monday night’s victory over the Rams.
He played 25 offensive snaps and 110 on special teams this season and has totaled three tackles and three catches for 16 yards.
Conner has appeared in 24 career games with one start in three seasons. He entered the NFL as an undrafted college free agent with the Dolphins in 2022.
Dodson is in his fifth NFL season and has appeared in 68 games with 24 starts with Buffalo (2020-23) and Seattle (2024). He has recorded 199 tackles, 6.5 sacks, six pass deflections, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in his career.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel offered a couple of roster updates during a Tuesday press conference.
McDaniel confirmed multiple reports that the team claimed linebacker Tyrel Dodson off of waivers. The Seahawks dropped Dodson on Monday after he started each of the team’s first nine games.
“It was a surprise that he was out there,” McDaniel said. “So, [General Manager] Chris Grier’s always trying to make the team better and the more the merrier in our opinion.”
McDaniel also said that right tackle Austin Jackson will miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery. Jackson started the first eight games of the season, but was placed on injured reserve before Monday night’s win over the Rams.
Kendall Lamm started at right tackle on Monday.
The Raiders are getting one of their offensive contributors back on the field.
Las Vegas announced tight end Michael Mayer returned to practice.
Mayer has been on the non-football injury list since Oct. 11 due to undisclosed personal reasons. He has not played since the Raiders’ Week 3 loss to the Panthers.
A second-round pick in 2023, Mayer caught four passes for 21 yards in the first three games this season. He had 27 receptions for 304 yards with two TDs last year.
The Raiders are coming off their Week 10 bye and will face the Dolphins on Sunday.
