Tua Missing Practice And Other Notes

Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will miss practice Wednesday because of illness, but head coach Brian Flores said it was not COVID-related

Miami Dolphins rookie first-round pick Tua Tagovailoa will miss practice Wednesday because of illness, though head coach Brian Flores emphasized it had nothing to do with COVID-19.

Flores told reporters at the end of his Zoom media session to expect to see Tagovailoa on the injury report with the illness.

“This is not a false positive," Flores said. "We’ve been through the protocols. We test every day. We’re confident saying it’s not COVID-related, and he won’t be on the COVID-IR (list).”

Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, has not played one snap so far in his rookie season because veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick has gone all the way through the first three games.

The one quarterback on the roster besides Fitzpatrick and Tagovailoa is rookie Reid Sinnett, who was signed to the practice squad Sept. 14. He's an undrafted free agent from the University of San Diego.

The Dolphins have protected Sinnett from being poached off the practice squad each of the past three weeks, doing it again Tuesday.

The other players the Dolphins protected from being poached this week were cornerback Tae Hayes, tight end Chris Myarick and long-snapper Matt Orzech.

Hayes, who was promoted to the active roster and played 15 snaps in the 31-13 victory at Jacksonville on Sunday, and Myarick have been protected every week. Orzech has been protected the past three weeks.

The Dolphins had three players in for tryouts Tuesday, though none of them was a quarterback. All three were defensive backs: Nevelle Clarke from Central Florida, Tino Ellis from Maryland and Teez Tabor, a former University of Florida standout who was a second-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2017.