Tua Tagovailoa Didn't Play Against the Cleveland Browns Because of a Hip Injury

Few starting quarterbacks have faced more consistent injury concerns than Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa. Tua has already sustained three concussions over the course of his NFL career, including one during the 2024 season that kept him out for several weeks.

And, during the team's week 17 game against the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 29, many noticed that Tua was not the team's starting quarterback. Naturally, many wanted to learn more about why Tua was out of the game. Here's what we know.

Tua was kept out of the game because of a hip injury that he played through during last week's game against the San Francisco 49ers. He aggravated the injury in the win, and was listed as questionable all week before being downgraded to doubtful on Dec. 28. Apparently, it's the same hip that he had surgery on while he was in college, but it's a different spot, which means that it hasn't been re-aggravated.

It's unclear whether Tua will be able to return for the team's final game of the season against the Jets. Even without their first-string quarterback, the Dolphins were still able to take care of business and defeat the Browns 20-3. Miami would need some help to earn a playoff berth, but they certainly need to win next week in order to get in, and Tua usually gives the team its best shot to do that.

While Tua is not exactly the healthiest quarterback in the NFL, there are some who think that the hip injury is actually an excuse for him to miss crucial games that the team needs. That way, if they don't make the playoffs, it won't be on him.

There are also those who noted that these final two games are being played in the cold, which is an environment where Tua has historically struggled (Miami is a famously warm city).

These vast conspiracies might make some fans feel better, but the likeliest explanation isn't necessarily any better. This is the second time this year that Tua has missed games because of injury, and it's far from the first time in his career that he's faced these kinds of problems.

It seems distinctly probable that the main reason Tua is not playing is simply that he is too injured to take the field.

Football is one of the roughest games a professional athlete can play, and his body might simply be too fragile to play it.

The Dolphins have been moderately successful during Tua's time with the team and made the playoffs last year but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

Their season this year has risen and fallen with the state of Tua's health. When he's healthy, they're playing well, and when he's not, the team tends to lose. Now that he's out, and we don't know when he'll return, the fate of the team's season might be in the hands of veteran backup Tyler Huntley.