Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will not play when the Miami Dolphins square off against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in the first round of the NFL’s postseason.

The former Alabama All-American also missed the final two games of the regular season after entering the NFL’s concussion protocol on Dec. 26.

“As of today, Tua has not been cleared by doctors to resume football activities on the field with his teammates,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said on Wednesday afternoon, “so because of that and because of the time that he’s missed, I can rule him out for Sunday.”

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Backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater sustained a dislocated finger in the Dolphins’ 23-21 loss to the New England Patriots on Jan. 1, and Miami is preparing rookie Skylar Thompson to start at quarterback on Sunday, McDaniel said.

Thompson went all the way under center as the Dolphins defeated the New York Jets 11-6 in their regular-season finale on Sunday.

That was the first victory of the season for Miami without Tagovailoa at quarterback. The Dolphins had an 8-5 record in the games started by Tagovailoa and a 1-3 mark in the games he missed because of concussions.

Tagovailoa sustained a concussion during a 26-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 25, although he played the entire game and did not enter the concussion protocol until the next day.

“He himself is learning that he needs to listen to the advice of doctors and medical professionals,” McDaniel said. “He understands the severity of doing that, so there’s a little bit of things that he can’t control. The incredible part of the entire season, eight of our wins were the result of him playing quarterback amongst the team, and that did not come because it was just gifted. That was a lot of work and preparation, so it’s very frustrating, much as a lot of things in life and football are. It’s very frustrating for him to not be able to go through everything with his teammates, and, really, it was a huge goal of his to get this team to the playoffs, and he wants to play in the playoffs. There’s nothing more fun than playoff football. And he really finds normal football fun.”

Tagovailoa’s first trip through the NFL’s concussion protocol kept him sidelined for two games after getting hurt on Sept. 29.

McDaniel was asked on Wednesday if consideration was being given to retirement by Tagovailoa after the two concussions.

“I’m just thinking about his day and him getting back to full health as a human being,” McDaniel said, “and when it’s time to turn the page, we’ll turn the page.”

The Dolphins and Bills meet at noon CST Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. CBS and Paramount+ will televise the game.

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