CLEVELAND -- Surgery is not currently in the plans for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who missed Sunday's 20-3 win over the Cleveland Browns with a hip injury.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa suffered the injury against the Houston Texans in Week 15 and was able to play through it against San Francisco last week. However, he aggravated the injury on a play vs. the 49ers and it did not progress the way the team had hoped this past week.
Tagovailoa was limited in both of Miami's practices leading up to Sunday's game, and he was downgraded to doubtful Saturday.
"You try to forecast how things will heal based upon the only thing that you have to work with, which is the previous week's forecast," McDaniel said. "So, we were hoping and anticipating for a timeline similar to that, and as the week progressed, we didn't see the improvement we'd hoped. ... Ultimately, he absolutely wanted to play. It wasn't a pain tolerance thing; that was not in the equation for him.
"... The main thing was that he not only was super susceptible to a much more significant injury based upon that injury, if he were to fall in harm's way, but a major factor was the lack of strength due to the injury and his inability as we forecast to protect himself and his teammates within the pocket doing the things that he normally has to do."
After playing all 18 games in 2023, Tagovailoa has now missed a career-high five regular-season games this year. McDaniel said that while surgery isn't currently deemed necessary, he has "no idea" whether Tagovailoa will play in the regular-season finale next weekend against the New York Jets.
The Dolphins coach did confirm that Tagovailoa's hip injury was not related to the compound fracture he suffered during his final season at Alabama in 2019.
Tagovailoa told reporters Thursday that his injured hip felt "good," and he described the issue as typical wear and tear at this point of the season. Defensive lineman Calais Campbell said the quarterback told him Thursday that the team would have to "pull me out the game" and that he planned to play against the Browns.
Campbell, however, said he could tell, based on Tagovailoa reps at Friday's practice, that the quarterback was unlikely to play.
Backup Tyler Huntley started against the Browns and completed 22 of 26 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown while rushing for an additional 53 yards and a TD.
In his fourth start of the season, Huntley said he's more comfortable in this offense now that he has spent three months in it.
"I actually know what the motions are, and I've got a good feel of the plays right now," Huntley said. "So, yeah, a couple weeks in the offense, it definitely makes a difference."
The Dolphins returned to a .500 record for the first time since Week 2. They can earn a third straight playoff berth next week with a win over the Jets and a Denver Broncos loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, who clinched the AFC's top seed and are likely to rest their starters.
Campbell, a Colorado native, joked that he'd be a "huge Chiefs fan" for the first time in his life. He said the Dolphins could win games with the way Huntley played Sunday.
"It's never over until it's over," Campbell said. "There's always opportunity and who knows -- I mean it might not happen. That's part of it. But we've got to go out there in the ballpark and if it does happen, look out.
"We coming."