Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa leaves Thursday's game against the Bills with a concussion

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and was temporarily removed from the game for the second half of Thursday night's loss to the Buffalo Bills.

After his departure, Tagovailoa remained in the stadium's locker room and did not go to the hospital. Head coach Mike McDaniel, who spoke with Tagovailoa on the field and in the locker room, said his quarterback was “in good spirits.”

“I was worried,” McDaniel said of his initial reaction to Tagovailoa's injury. “I was just worried about my guy. You never want to experience something like that, and you hope you don't.”

The Dolphins franchise quarterback has a history of concussions and has been sidelined twice because of them, making the incident even more frightening. He will undergo further tests on Friday, but a timetable for when he might be ready to play again was not of paramount importance to a worried McDaniel.

“The schedule is the last thing on my mind,” McDaniel said. “We just have to evaluate the situation and take care of my teammate, like the rest of the guys.”

Tagovailoa lowered his head and hit the right arm of Bills safety Damar Hamlin on a 6-yard run to the Buffalo 7-yard line with 4:24 left in the third quarter.

Tagovailoa, 26, struggled to get up immediately, his arm twisted in a frightening manner. He was treated on the field, McDaniel ran onto the field and then walked to the locker room under his own power.

He was replaced by reserve Skylar Thompson in Thursday's game. Tagovailoa's night ended with 145 yards passing, one touchdown and three interceptions.

In the 2022 season, Tagovailoa missed five games, including one postseason game, due to concussions. In Week 4 of that season, Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field against the Cincinnati Bengals and missed two weeks after that. Then, on Christmas of that year, he suffered another concussion in a game against the Green Bay Packers and was out for the rest of the season.

In the 2023 season – during which the quarterback has been preparing diligently to avoid head injuries, for example by practicing jiu-jitsu to improve his falls – Tagovailoa had his best performance yet, throwing for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions to lead the Fins to the postseason for the second consecutive year. In the offseason, the No. 5 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft secured his first contract extension, for four years and $212.4 million.

Two games into his first season after signing a long-term contract, Tagovailoa's health is once again a major concern for this and future seasons.