Dolphins downgrade Tua to doubtful with hurt hip

CLEVELAND — The Miami Dolphins downgraded quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to doubtful for Sunday’s game against Cleveland Browns with a hip injury.

Tagovailoa initially suffered the injury during the Dolphins loss to the Houston Texans in Week 15, but he was able to finish the game and play in the team’s win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16.

He downplayed the injury earlier this week, describing it as typical wear and tear at this point of the season.

“I mean it’s good. It’s just like anyone else on the team and anyone else around the league,” Tagovailoa said Thursday when asked how his hip felt. “You get banged up little bit towards the ending of the year so just got to take care of that.”

Tagovailoa was limited in every Dolphins practice this week and was initially listed as questionable to play Sunday.

Tagovailoa suffered a compound hip fracture during his final season at Alabama in 2019 that put his playing career in jeopardy.

He was cleared in time to play his rookie season; this would be the first instance of him missing a game with a hip injury in his NFL career.

The next two weeks are critical for the Dolphins, who can secure a third consecutive playoff berth if they win both games, finish with a better record than the Indianapolis Colts, and the Denver Broncos lose both of their remaining games.

If Tagovailoa cannot play Sunday, Tyler Huntley would start at quarterback for the Dolphins, with Skylar Thompson serving as the primary backup. Huntley started three games for Miami this season, resulting in a win and two losses.

In those three starts, he completed 59% of his passes for 377 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

This would be a return of sorts to Cleveland for Huntley, who signed with the Browns as a free agent in March but was released in August. Miami signed Huntley off Baltimore‘s practice squad in September after Tagovailoa suffered the third documented concussion of his NFL career.