The three words no one with the Dolphins wanted to see just resurfaced for the first time ahead of Week 6

The Dolphins released their first injury report of the week on Wednesday evening and it included a surprising inclusion of Tua Tagovailoa, who was listed as a limited participant for Wednesday's practice with both a hip and a left thumb designation.

For what it is worth, Tagovailoa conducted his post-practice press conference on Wednesday afternoon with no apparent ailments — so this isn't to say that Tagovailoa's status is in any way in trouble for Week 6 as the Dolphins host the Los Angeles Chargers. Offensive coordinator Frank Smith said on Thursday morning that he expects Tagovailoa to play.

Tua Tagovailoa's 2025 passing statistics

• 1,008 passing yards (6.7 yards per attempt)
• 10 passing touchdowns :: 4 interceptions
• 70.7% completion percentage (106 completions on 150 attempts)
• 100.1 passer rating

But the appearance of Tagovailoa on the injury report with a hip is notable because of his history. Tagovailoa's junior season at Alabama was cut short due to a dislocated hip — an injury that required surgery to repair and left his draft status and stock in major question until the Dolphins chose to draft him with the 5th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

There were no public ailments tied to Tagovailoa's hip until he took a helmet to his torso against the Houston Texans in Week 15. He played the following week against San Francisco but the injury he suffered to that region was aggravated against the 49ers and he was unable to play in the final two games of the 2024 season.

Is this the same hip? Is it a related issue? Is it general soreness? Was it just treatment for soreness or is there a structural concern? Most limited participations in practice don't facilitate these kinds of questions. But most quarterbacks don't have a dislocated hip on their resume, nor are they coming off missing the end of the prior season due to a hip injury that was only vaguely described as the situation unfolded — plus had the quarterback publicly promising to play if the team qualified for the playoffs while missing a "must-win" game in order to make the playoffs.

Everyone in Miami needs wins, and fast. There is no sure fire way to ensure that wins won't come for Mike McDaniel than to introduce a quarterback change to the mix. So until we find more out about the nature of Tagovailoa's ailment, it is worth monitoring. It could easily be nothing to worry about at all. But recent history also tells us there's a higher chance that it's not than would be for other quarterbacks.

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