The status of Tua Tagovailoa for Sunday's Patriots-Dolphins game might be the biggest NFL storyline of the week.
Miami's starting quarterback, who missed time earlier this season due to a serious concussion, reported concussion symptoms after last Sunday's home loss to the Green Bay Packers. He now could miss his team's Week 17 game in New England, a matchup that might determine the playoff fate of both teams.
On Tuesday night, NFL Media's Judy Battista spoke with league chief medical offer Dr. Allen Sills, who revealed that Tagovailoa's latest concussion doesn't warrant an investigation. Ian Rapoport on Wednesday morning offered additional context on the situation.
"Let's talk about Tua Tagovailoa ... once again in the NFL's concussion protocol," Rapoport said during an NFL Network appearance. "This actually came up not during the game, but after the game. Tua reported symptoms of a concussion. ... Obviously, not his first time this season.
" ... A lot of questions about this. Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, talked to Judy Battista on 'Total Access' last night and said Tua exhibited zero injury behavior, zero symptoms that would've triggered the protocol during the game. So, as of now, there is no investigation into the situation."
Rapoport added: "Obviously, Tua's status very much in doubt for this weekend."
It's unclear whether Rapoport's comment about Tagovailoa's status being "very much in doubt" was sourced reporting or just an example of stating the obvious. Probably the latter.
Regardless, we'll get a better sense of the 24-year-old's availability when the Dolphins practice Wednesday. If Tagovailoa missed practice time this week, it would make it even harder to envision him suiting up in Foxboro, Mass.
And if he can't play, a must-win game for the Patriots suddenly would become far more manageable. Tagovailoa is 4-0 in his career against Bill Belichick's Patriots.
New England and Miami will kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
