Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could have been headed to Las Vegas for the Pro Bowl Games next week. Instead, the former Alabama All-American remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol and will be continuing to work on his recovery.

Tagovailoa received more votes for the Pro Bowl Games than any other NFL player this season. After the Pro Bowl choices for the players and coaches were added, Tagovailoa ended up as the first alternate at quarterback for the AFC.

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The three AFC quarterbacks were the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. With the Bengals and Chiefs squaring off in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, either Burrow or Mahomes will be busy with Super Bowl LVII and will be replaced on the AFC roster.

That replacement would have been Tagovailoa. But ESPN reported on Friday that the quarterback and the Dolphins were taking it slowly after Tagovailoa sustained his second acknowledged concussion of the 2022 season on Dec. 25.

During an interview on Thursday at the Polynesian Bowl, Tagovailoa’s father, Galu Tagovailoa, gave an update on his son’s health.

“He’s great,” Galu Tagovailoa said. “He’s doing fine. He’s happy, and that’s the most important thing, right? As parents, you like to see your kids with a smile on their face when you walk into their house, their home. But he’s doing great.”

In the 2022 regular season, Tagovailoa had the NFL’s top passing-efficiency rating at 105.5. He completed 259-of-400 passes for 3,548 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

But he missed five games and more than half of another because of two concussions – one sustained on Sept. 29 in a 27-15 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and the other on Dec. 25 in a 26-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

For the first concussion, Tagovailoa was at University of Cincinnati Medical Center by halftime after being taken off the field on a stretcher. But on the second, Tagovailoa played the entire game against the Packers – with three interceptions in the fourth quarter – before entering the NFL concussion protocol the next day.

Tagovailoa has remained at that status through the final two games of the regular season and the Dolphins’ 34-31 playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills and now into Miami’s offseason as the NFL team puts a priority on their quarterback’s long-term health, ESPN reported.

Galu Tagovailoa said the concussion issues of 2022 would not cause his son to stop playing.

“He comes back,” Galu Tagovailoa said. “That’s their guy. They love him. We love them and what they’re doing helping him with his recovery and everything else trying to get him back. He’s still going through his protocols. We’re grateful for them, too. Very thankful for Miami, the organization, the owner, and (Chris) Grier the GM and head coach Mike (McDaniel).”

In the same interview, Tagovailoa’s mother, Diane Tagovailoa, sent thanks for the support that her son had received after his injuries.

“The power of prayer, it’s truly amazing,” Diane Tagovailoa said. “I mean, not only locally in the United States, but globally. Across the globe, everyone was praying in agreement for his healing and just for our healing as well. As parents, we don’t ever want to see our children hurt. Just the prayers have been so comforting, and we’re so grateful.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.