Dolphins head coach Brian Flores revealed during his Wednesday press conference that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has fractured ribs and will be out for Miami's Week 3 meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The team put him through further tests after the initial X-rays showed nothing broken.
"He's in a lot of pain. He's out this week. We're going to take it week-to-week," Flores said. "This is a tough kid. He wants to play. He's actually trying to play. We're going to save him from himself a little bit on this and take it week-to-week."
Tagovailoa suffered his injury on Miami's second offensive drive of the team's Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills this past Sunday. The 23-year-old took a hard shot from Bills pass rusher A.J. Epenesa on a 4th-and-2 play in the first quarter that resulted in an incompletion and a turnover on downs.
While Tagovailoa was able to walk off the field, he was eventually carted off the field and taken to the locker room for further examination.
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With Tagovailoa out of Sunday's matchup with the Raiders, that means Jacoby Brissett will get his first start with the Dolphins. The 28-year-old struggled to get the offense going after he took over for Tagovailoa against the Bills, completing just 24-of-40 pass attempts for 169 yards. He was also sacked a total of four times and was picked off once.
The Dolphins will have practice squad quarterback Reid Sinnett serve as Brissett's backup in Las Vegas.
Kickoff on Sunday is set for 4:05 p.m. ET at Allegiant Stadium.