All eyes are on Tua Tagovailoa in 2023 as the Dolphins' fourth-year quarterback looks to rebound from an injury-riddled close to 2022. In the meantime, Tagovailoa's top backup, Mike White, will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering an apparent concussion in Saturday's preseason game against the Texans, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday.
White played only briefly at the start of Saturday's exhibition, but his helmet contacted the ground on a sack, and Dolphins staffers at some point discovered "irregularities with him" during the game, McDaniel said. The veteran No. 2, who joined the team on a two-year contract in March, is now in concussion protocol and isn't expected to suit up for Saturday's preseason finale against the Jaguars.
White, who spent the previous four seasons with the rival Jets, was relieved by 2022 seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson against the Texans. The latter threw three touchdowns in the game, marking the second straight year he's posted gaudy numbers in the preseason. The Kansas State product started three games, including the playoffs, while replacing an injured Tagovailoa as a rookie.
With White unavailable, the Dolphins are set to re-sign undrafted rookie James Blackman, an Arkansas State product who spent most of the summer with the team, for emergency depth under center.
Also on the injury front, rookie running back De'Von Achane, a speedy third-round pick who figured to enter 2023 with a sizable role in Miami's backfield, is considered week-to-week with a shoulder injury suffered Saturday, per McDaniel. He's just the latest in a growing list of notable names to battle injuries in the lead-up to the Dolphins' regular season, after fellow RB Jeff Wilson, left tackle Terron Armstead and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the latter of whom will be out for months while recovering from offseason surgery.