Mike McDaniel October 12 Takeaways

Head coach Mike McDaniel addressed the media before the Miami Dolphins practiced at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Wednesday.

Here were the highlights from McDaniel's press conference:

-- First question addresses the report that Tua Tagovailoa will be throwing at practice Wednesday, and McDaniel said it "will be exciting for today." Tua will throw and do some individual work today. McDaniel says he doesn't see Tua being active and he doesn't plan to have him play at all. "I can say with certainty he won't play this Sunday."

-- As for Teddy Bridgewater, he's progressing through the concussion protocol. The soreness on his pec is getting better, but in this stage of the concussion he can't do anything with his teammates. He will be at practice Wednesday but working with trainers on the side.

-- The Dolphins are planning on starting Skylar Thompson against the Vikings because of the steps Bridgewater still has to go through with the concussion protocol.

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-- As long as everything goes to plan with regards to his protocol procedures, Bridgewater will be active and backing up Thompson on Sunday.

-- There is a scenario where Tua could be cleared to play by Sunday, but McDaniel said it wouldn't be fair to the player or the team to put him out there because he just hasn't done anything over the past two weeks.

-- Whether the target is for Tua to play against the Steelers in Week 7, McDaniel is just excited to have him back on the field but there are steps that still need to be taken. "Right now I'm just really focused on him getting out there and feeling good and being around his teammates. Those types of decisions aren't in the immediate future right now. I'll handle that when that comes."

-- Tua saw four specialists recently and McDaniel says he'll be relying on their expertise.

-- Xavien Howard and Terron Armstead "need the whole week" to deal with their injuries, though Howard will be at practice Wednesday.

-- Tyreek Hill will be at practice Wednesday, will get some work in and "he won't be practicing with a boot on." The last part was another example of McDaniel's tendency to add humor to his press conferences.

-- The leadership group among the players decided to take away the ping-pong table in the middle of the Dolphins locker room to fully focus on the Minnesota game in the hopes of ending the two-game losing streak.

-- On starting Skylar, McDaniel said he wouldn't be making this move if he didn't feel the players had confidence in the rookie quarterback. McDaniel calls him again "not a typical rookie." Thompson will benefit from having all the full-team reps because of Bridgewater in the protocol.

-- McDaniel will decide later in the week whether to elevate Reid Sinnett from the practice squad. Likely will depend on how Bridgewater is progressing.

-- One piece of advice McDaniel gave to Thompson on Tuesday is that it was good for him to learn from plays that happened against the Jets but also understand the circumstances.

-- Having Bridgewater on the sideline would be huge for Thompson given Bridgewater's experience.