A stunned silence came over the stadium on Thursday night. Miami Dolphins franchise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion during his team’s 31-10 blowout loss against their division rivals, the visiting Buffalo Bills, the Dolphins announced. This is yet another significant head injury for a player who previously expressed the appropriate amount of fear and concern about his well-documented history of them.
Tagovailoa exited the game in the third quarter after he made the decision to dive instead of slide for a first down and took a glancing blow to the head by Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The 26-year-old stayed on the ground for several minutes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and was rendered aid by Dolphins’ trainers.
Tagovailoa eventually walked off the field under his own power and was replaced by backup quarterback Skylar Thompson. Tagovailoa was “ruled out with a concussion,” the Dolphins posted on social media.
Tagovailoa has a long, extensive history of concussions, having suffered three during the 2022 season. In April of last year, he said he strongly thought about walking away from the game he loves “for a time” after the concussion issues.
After Thursday’s game, Hamlin said he wished Tagovailoa a “speedy recovery.”
“I know he’s a dawg. He’s a fighter. He’ll be back soon for sure,” Hamlin told the media.
There is no one better to understand and sympathize what Tagovailoa is going through. Hamlin has had his own injury-related scares in recent years. The Bills safety collapsed during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January of 2023 after making a tackle and taking a shot to the head and chest area. Medical professionals performed living-saving measures, CPR when he lost his pulse and he needed to be revived through resuscitation and defibrillation. He was on a ventilator for days and spent more than a week in a Cincinnati hospital.
It was later determined that Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was a result of commotio cordis, which can occur when severe trauma to the chest disrupts the heart’s electrical charge and causes dangerous fibrillations, or abnormal heartbeats.
Tagovailoa’s injury happened midway through the third quarter when he attempted to use his wheels and run for a first down. As the signal caller made it across the first down line, Tagovailoa lunged head-first, resulting in the collision with Hamlin’s chest.
The technique performed by Tagovailoa is different to the one typically used by quarterbacks where they slide feet-first to protect themselves, with defenders given a severe 15-yard penalty if they come into contact with a sliding player.
CNN Sport’s Coy Wire, a nine-year NFL veteran who played with the Bills and Atlanta Falcons, said his first thought was Tagovailoa “should’ve slid, should’ve played smart.”
“He learned to do that after 2022. That’s why no reported concussions last season,” Wire said.
Embed from Getty Images“But my second thought was, sometimes, that competitive nature and desire to win, or gain the first down, etc. clouds all training and judgment. I think just that one time he let his guard down and, unfortunately, just that one time might cost him his career.”
Wire added: “It was a huge Thursday Night Game with a division rival. Tua had already thrown three interceptions and he probably wanted to redeem himself. That adrenaline and that will to win can make people do things they probably shouldn’t.”
Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz, among others, said he believes Tagovailoa should consider retirement after another head injury.
“It’s easy for me to say but it’s sad to see and you have no idea what the ramifications will be later in life,”
Schwartz, who played for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs, wrote on his social media platform. “But it’s clear that his body can’t handle those hits to the head/neck area, with the scary reactions he has. And at some point, you got to get hit.”
The fifth-year pro, out of the University of Alabama, was in “good spirits” after the game, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters.
“I talked to him in the locker room,” McDaniel said. “Obviously, I talked to him on the field, and then talked to him in the locker room before he was headed home. He was in good spirits.”
McDaniel said his immediate thought and reaction when he saw Tagovailoa go down was “concern.”
“I was just worried about my guy, so, yeah, it’s not something that you ever want to be a part of,” McDaniel said. “You hope not to.”
The third-year head coach said it was too early to decide about putting Tagovailoa on the injured reserve list, a move that would mean he would be sidelined for at least four games.
“It’s more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow,” McDaniel said. “And taking it one day at a time. The furthest thing from my mind is what is the timeline. … We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are.”
When asked if it was still safe for Tagovailoa to play football especially considering his history with concussions, McDaniel stopped short in giving an answer.
“From a medical standpoint, I don’t approach things that I’m far inferior of expertise,” McDaniel said. “I’m just there to support my teammate, like I said. I think … for me to go ahead and forecast things that I don’t know in my non-field of expertise, I don’t think that’s appropriate.
“I think we will find out some more information tomorrow in terms of where Tua is at. … We will have conversations and progress as appropriate.”
Tagovailoa went around the locker room and “connected” with his teammates to “keep the guys’ heads up,” McDaniel said.
“Just another example of his great character and leadership,” McDaniel added. “I think that when something happens to an individual and you see their response – I mean, he’s concerned about his teammates. That tells you everything about the type of person he is, and he knows what he means to this team.”
Tagovailoa had a bad night to say the least, struggling before leaving the game, throwing three picks.
Several members of the Bills expressed concern and support for Tagovailoa after the game. Even though they are on opposing teams, they are a part of the same fraternity and brotherhood.
Coach Sean McDermott said the injury “didn’t look good” and said his thoughts and prayers were with Tagovailoa and his family. Quarterback Josh Allen called Tagovailoa an “even greater human” than football player and wished his family the best.
“Very sad. That’s the worst part of the game,” Allen said. “Nothing but love and prayers sending to him and his family, and hopefully everyone’s sending those, because he’s going to need them. It’s the worst part of the game.”
