AP source: Tagovailoa to miss Pro Bowl, still in protocol

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced officially.

Tagovailoa was diagnosed with his second concussion of the 2022 season more than a month ago, after a Dec. 25 loss to Green Bay. He missed Miami’s final three games, including a playoff loss to Buffalo.

Tagovailoa had been selected as a Pro Bowl first alternate and would have replaced either Joe Burrow or Patrick Mahomes, one of whom will play in Super Bowl LVII after Sunday’s AFC Championship game.

The Pro Bowl will be held on Sunday Feb. 5, one week before the Super Bowl.

The Dolphins have repeated that they remain committed to Tagovailoa as their starter for the 2023 season.

“That’s something that’s driven by the doctors,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said after the season ended. “They’re the experts in those fields, and when they tell us that he’s ready to play and as we expect, when they tell us that he’s ready to play coming in the spring or whatever, then we’ll press forward in that direction.”

Miami’s general manager Chris Grier, said that after conversations with doctors provided through the NFL’s players union, they do not believe that Tagovailoa is more susceptible to concussions than any other player.

Tagovailoa was concussed Sept. 29 at Cincinnati after a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious. He was stretchered off the field and returned in Week 7.

Tagovailoa took another hard hit four days before the Cincinnati game in a win over Buffalo. He appeared to show concussion symptoms but stayed in the game, and the team immediately after the game said that he had a back injury.

The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that any player who shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — sit out the remainder of a game.

Tagovailoa threw for a career-high 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns in his third season. He led the NFL in passer rating.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Rams are hiring former New York Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Rams haven’t formally announced the decision to hire LaFleur, who spent the past two years with New York.

The Rams wrapped up the worst season in NFL history by a defending Super Bowl champion this month, fielding the worst offense in the league by total yards after losing several significant players to injury. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen then left the team to return to Kentucky, where he spent the 2021 season as the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator.

The Rams’ previous offensive coordinator was Kevin O’Connell, who became the Minnesota Vikings’ head coach shortly after the Rams’ Super Bowl victory. Coach Sean McVay has called the Rams’ plays throughout his tenure, and he went without a formal offensive coordinator in 2018 and 2019.

The Jets had one of the NFL’s worst offenses in both seasons with LaFleur in charge under head coach Robert Saleh. He led an offense last season that ranked 29th in scoring and 25th in total yards while struggling for consistent quarterback play.

LaFleur was on the San Francisco 49ers’ staff from 2017 to 2020 under Kyle Shanahan, who has beaten McVay’s teams in eight consecutive regular-season meetings.

The 36-year-old LaFleur is also the younger brother of Matt LaFleur, who was McVay’s offensive coordinator with the Rams during McVay’s first season in 2017 before eventually becoming the Green Bay Packers’ head coach.