Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa has been downgraded to Doubtful for the Week 17 game

The Miami Dolphins may still be in playoff contention when they take on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, but in any case it looks like they’ll have to try to win this game without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

The Dolphins downgraded Tagovailoa from questionable to doubtful due to the hip injury he suffered in Week 15 against the Houston Texans.

Tyler “Snoop” Huntley would be making his fourth start for the Dolphins if Tagovailoa ends up being inactive, which would almost be a given if the Dolphins weren’t in the playoffs.

Skylar Thompson was called up from the practice squad to either serve as Huntley’s backup against Cleveland or perhaps serve as the third emergency quarterback.

Hearing about Tua struggling with a hip injury is clearly not ideal given the serious hip injury he suffered during his final season at Alabama, although it’s not clear if his current injury involves the same hip.

Tagovailoa downplayed this recent injury when he held his weekly media session on Thursday.

“I mean, it’s good,” Tagovailoa said. “It’s just like everyone else on the team and everyone else in the league. “Towards the end of the year, you’re a little messed up, so you just have to deal with it.”

Tagovailoa, of course, missed four games earlier this season when he landed on injured reserve after suffering a concussion in Thursday night’s Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

This latest injury is potentially very problematic, not only for this season, as the Dolphins’ playoff chances really aren’t very realistic, but also for what it could mean for the future.

It should give the Dolphins further proof that they absolutely need to be better prepared to play games without Tagovailoa next season.

In Huntley’s three starts earlier this season, the Dolphins went 1-2, with a win against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium and losses to the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts.

Huntley’s stats aren’t particularly impressive, with a 59.1 completion percentage and an ugly 73.9 passer rating.

With Huntley or Thompson starting while Tagovailoa was on IR, the Dolphins averaged exactly 10 points in those four games, and the 1-3 series against four teams that currently have losing records played no small role in making that happen of playoff hopes are.