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This marks the quarterback’s third concussion of his NFL career and he has suffered at least two concussions during the 2022 season.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has suffered the third concussion of his NFL career and is out of the team after colliding with defensive back Damar Hamlin and slamming the back of his head into the turf during Thursday night’s loss to Buffalo.
Tagovailoa lay on the ground for about two minutes after the third quarter before getting up and walking to the sideline, then quickly heading for the tunnel, looking out at the stands, smiling and leaving for the locker room.
The Dolphins quickly announced that it was a concussion, and the team said Tagovailoa had suffered two concussions during the 2022 season and had also been diagnosed with a concussion while at the University of Alabama.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would undergo a “procedural evaluation” and “appropriate treatment” on Friday.
“That’s the furthest thing from my mind, like, ‘What’s the timeline?’ We just have to evaluate and worry about our teammates, just like any other guy,” McDaniel said. “We’ll have more information tomorrow and we’ll just take it one day at a time from here.”
Some players said they saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and felt encouraged by him, and McDaniel said Tagovailoa spoke with several players before heading home after the game.
“I love Tua a lot and I’ve had a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who filled in for Tagovailoa after the injury. “It’s about the person over the player and I think everyone on the team would say the same thing. My heart goes out to Tua and I hope everything works out.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million contract extension prior to this season. The deal made him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL and he was the NFL’s leading pass thrower through Week 1 of this season. Tagovailoa left the game with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, which was the final score.
“Anyone who knows Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel sympathy for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon after the game. “He’s a great football player, but even more than that, he’s a great person. He’s one of the best people on the planet. I love him dearly and I’m praying for him and his family. I hope everything is OK, but it’s tough. The game of football that we play, there are good times and there are bad times, and this was one of those bad times.”
Tagovailoa was plagued by injuries during his college and first three seasons in the NFL, but he could be due for a big raise after playing injury-free in 2023 and leading the Dolphins to the playoffs after throwing for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
No one knows if he’ll be able to return this season, or if he’ll even be able to return at all. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that a concussion he suffered during the 2022 season made him think about the future of his playing career. “I guess I thought about it for a while,” he said at the time when asked if he considered stepping away from the sport to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his position on whether Tagovailoa should return to football. “He will be evaluated and we will have the appropriate conversations and progress,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was injured Thursday during a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third period when he went straight toward Hamlin and didn’t slide, instead putting his right shoulder forward.
Hamlin is the player who suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle during Monday night’s game in Cincinnati in January 2023, causing the NFL to suspend a crucial game that quickly lost its significance in the aftermath of the horrific scenes that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa fell to his back with his hands up and Bills players quickly pointed at him as if to suggest he was injured, and Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving toward the sideline.
Tagovailoa was lying on the ground and appeared to have his right hand clenched into a fist, consistent with a “fencing reaction” that is common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa finally got up, and as he was leaving, McDaniel grabbed the side of the quarterback’s head and kissed him on the cheek. Thompson took Tagovailoa’s place in the game.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills’ Edge Von Miller said. “I’m a big fan of his. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been through the same thing. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions, and how he has avoided them since, has been a big part of the story of his career and is now coming to the fore again.
He has suffered at least two concussions during the 2022 season, suffering the injury in Week 3 against Buffalo and clearing concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play and returned to the game.
The NFL has since changed its concussion procedures, requiring that if a player shows any symptoms that could be a concussion, such as a lack of balance or stability, he must sit out the remainder of the game.
Less than a week later, Tagovailoa took a gruesome hit during a Thursday night game at Cincinnati that left him concussed, briefly unconscious and carted off the field on a stretcher.
His second concussion of the season came against Green Bay in December and sidelined him for the remainder of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began researching ways to fall more safely and protect himself from further injury, which included studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about things that are out of my control,” McDaniel said. “I’m only worried about people.”
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