The Dolphins are back from their bye week and the potential return of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was the subject of the first question at head coach Mike McDaniel’s press conference on Monday morning.

Tagovailoa has missed three games after suffering a concussion in Week Two and will become eligible to be designated for return from injured reserve after this week’s game against the Colts. McDaniel said all the word Tagovailoa has gotten has “continued to be positive” and he said he expects the quarterback to play again this season, but the coach was noncommittal about Tagovailoa practicing next week.

“There’s still information that he’s seeking this week,” McDaniel said. “As far as timelines go, I know he’s not playing this week and I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before we could even entertain anything.”

It’s the first time that McDaniel has said he expects Tagovailoa to play again and he said it is “exciting” to think about having the quarterback back on the field even if it remains unclear when that will actually happen.