Flores explains why Tua didn’t start vs. Texans. Will he be ready for Ravens on Thursday?

The Miami Dolphins made the unusual — and somewhat surprising — decision to bench Tua Tagovailoa, but not make him inactive, because of an injury Sunday. Now the quarterback’s status for the Dolphins’ next game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday remains a question.

There’s one positive way to paint the situation: Tagovailoa was healthy enough to dress for Miami’s 17-9 win against the Houston Texans and Brian Flores said he would’ve played if Jacoby Brissett went down. There’s also a negative spin: The Dolphins are heading into a short week before they host the Ravens in Miami Gardens and a fractured finger in his throwing hand kept Tagovailoa from being “able to make all the throws” the Dolphins needed him to make.

“He was limited all week, but he’s tough. He tried to go,” Flores said. “It really just became about how far could he throw? Would he be able to make all the throws we needed him to make? We thought it was enough to put him in the backup role and we felt like that was the best thing for the team. We would’ve had to change some things offensively if he had to go in.”

In place of Tagovailoa, Brissett went 26 of 43 for 244 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, and led Miami (2-7) to its first win since Week 1.

Tagovailoa, who fractured the middle finger on his left hand in the Dolphins’ loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, was questionable all week and will now have only three more days to get healthy enough to avoid missing back-to-back games.

“For Thursday, it’s still day to day,” Flores said.

As for Miami’s decision to make Tagovailoa the backup Sunday rather than elevate another quarterback from the practice squad, Flores said the Dolphins still felt Tagovailoa “was better” than the alternative, even at less than 100 percent.

As of Friday, Tagovailoa was still an option to start, Flores said. On Friday, Flores said Tagovailoa had “some swelling” and was “a little sore,” and Miami would monitor him over the early part of the weekend. Ultimately, Tagovailoa was not able to grip the ball well enough to throw downfield, NFL on Fox reported.

Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, had already missed three games this season due to fractured ribs he sustained early in Miami’s Week 2 game against the Indianapolis Colts. In five games this season, Tagovailoa has completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 1,040 yards and seven touchdowns and five interceptions.

His stats in the three games since returning from the rib injury: 68.3-percent completion rate (86 for 126) for 825 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ inactive players were wide receiver Preston Williams, cornerback Trill Williams, safety Sheldrik Redwine, linebacker Darius Hodge, offensive lineman Greg Little, tight end Hunter Long and defensive tackle John Jenkins.