Dolphins designate QB Tua Tagovailoa to return from IR ahead of Jaguars game in London

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores told reporters Monday that starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was improving from the fractured ribs he suffered in the Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills and could be cleared to play in this Sunday's game against the winless Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero (h/t Grant Gordon), Miami designated Tagovailoa to return off injured reserve for practice on Tuesday. This should put the 23-year-old on track to reclaim his spot atop the depth chart over backup Jacoby Brissett, who hurt his hamstring in this past Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Brissett performed admirably and left no doubt about his toughness, he failed to lead the 1-4 Dolphins to a single win in Tagovailoa's absence. 

Flores and company will likely see how Tagovailoa feels following practices before declaring if he'll start versus Jacksonville. 

According to ESPN stats, Miami enters Week 6 of the season 30th in the league in passing and is averaging only 191.4 passing yards per game. Additionally, the Dolphins are 31st in scoring while averaging only 15.8 points per contest. 

If Tagovailoa's return doesn't change those trends for the better, rumors linking Miami with unsettled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson will only get louder ahead of the Nov. 2 trade deadline even as Watson still faces 22 lawsuits alleging acts of sexual assault and misconduct and 10 criminal complaints that seemingly aren't going anywhere this fall.