Having played alongside Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa for the past two seasons, Seattle center Connor Williams found it hard to watch what happened to him.
He would prefer to see Tagovailoa playing on Sunday when the Seahawks face the Dolphins instead of seeing his former teammate deal with another concussion.
“It was awful. I mean, you never wish for something like that, and definitely with his history,” Williams said. “Just prayers out to him and his family.”
Tagovailoa’s latest concussion and his uncertain future have become a big topic ahead of the Week 3 game.
He got hurt last Thursday night during a loss to Buffalo, marking his third diagnosed concussion in two years.
The Dolphins have been preparing Skylar Thompson to start for the first time since the 2022 season while also figuring out when Tagovailoa, who is on injured reserve, will be back.
For now, Miami is relying on Thompson.
“When I tell you that the confidence that the team has for Skylar is real and it’s earned, and it’s based upon thousands of hours that as a backup quarterback most people don’t see,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said.
The last time Thompson started was during the 2022 playoffs against Buffalo. He didn’t play at all last season, and his few chances to play make it hard to predict how he will perform now.
“It’s tough because it’s not a huge sample size to see, and it’s been a long time, and you’re talking about a couple of years of growth from when he started last in a playoff game, being in the system,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald said. “So that’s where we’re at right now.”
