Table of Contents
Injury of Tua Tagovailoa Injury Could Derail Season
During Thursday night’s 31-10 defeat by the visiting Buffalo Bills, Dolphins starter Tua Tagovailoa exited early in the third quarter with a concussion, the third in the quarterback’s NFL career.
He could be out of the game for weeks, months, or even years. There was no set timetable for it.
It happened when Tagovailoa attempted to go up the middle for a first down they collided with each other in Tagovailoa used his helmet to make forcible contact with the forearm of the Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa immediately jumps in a fencing response with his arms into an awkward position.
For a few minutes, medical trainers treated Tagovailoa while players kneeled around him. He was able to get on his feet and head straight for the locker room but he was diagnosed with an injury that would not allow him to play the rest of the game.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel was to make a statement on Tagovailoa’s status when he addressed the media on Friday morning.
Speaking to the media after the game, McDaniel said Tagovailoa was in “good spirits,” though he refused to comment on the future of the fifth-year veteran.
The absence of Tua Could Be Devastating for the Dolphins.
“Right now … it is more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time,” McDaniel stated. “I have the timeframe the furthest from my head. All we have to do is assess the situation and focus on my buddy. We’ll start taking things day by day when we receive more information tomorrow.”
After his injury, one of the guys closest to Tagovailoa was Austin Jackson, an offensive tackle with the Dolphins. As soon as Jackson noticed that Tagovailoa “wasn’t there all the way,” he almost instantly bent down.
“Smashed. In the 2020 NFL draft, Jackson was chosen 13 picks after Tagovailoa. “I hate to see him like that,” Jackson stated. “I detest to watch that, even with his prior history of that kind of behavior. I detest that he hurried out of the pocket. I wish I could get that back for everyone here. I could have performed better.”
Third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson took over for Tua Tagovailoa when he left the game and would be the most likely candidate to start if Tua Tagovailoa does not play in the Week 3 matchup against the Seahawks.
From Injured Star to Potential Savior: Dolphins’ QB Dilemma
Thompson began on rookie season playing part of the season in 2022 where he got three starts, one being in the away playoff game against the Bills. McDaniel said he and the Dolphins have the “utmost confidence” in Thompson but will not confirm if Thompson will play against the Seahawks.
“I’m not sure what our timeframe is. “I’m not concerned about that,” McDaniel stated. “We played Skylar as a rookie, with the season on the line, and found a way to win an elimination game and face the same club in a playoff game. I think he’s a much better player than he was back then. Those are the feelings of the team; I think everyone believes in Skylar, thus I have complete faith in him.”
Tagovailoa received a lot of attention in 2022 after he struck the back of his head on the ground toward the end of the match against the Bills. After that fall, he was awkward in regaining his position to join his teammates in the Dolphins’ huddle and temporarily limped off the field by what was reported as a back strain.
The NFL and NFLPA launched an investigation into how Tagovailoa was managed and the NFLPA invoked its right to dismiss the unaffiliated neurological consultant who had passed Tagovailoa to continue playing. The NFL also changed its concussion policy and added an ataxia rule, which lets a spotter have players taken out of a game even if they displayed signs of a concussion.
Four days later, Tagovailoa hit the back of his head on the ground in the same way during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals and became briefly unconscious. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion which attracted a lot of criticism towards McDaniel and the Dolphins for allowing the player to continue playing.
Tagovailoa missed two games and then played in the Dec. 19 game against the New York Jets but suffered another blow to the head in a game against the Green Bay Packers on 25 December. This time they bench him for the rest of the season the Miami Dolphins did.
The Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ teammate, Tua Tagovailoa, revealed that he was thinking about calling it quits at the end of the 2022 season after talking it over with his kin. In an interview he did with “The Dan Le Batard Show” last month he elaborated that it was his mother who encouraged him to think about retirement.
He declined it and instead during the off-season gorged himself and trained in jiu-jitsu to understand how to break a fall without extending his neck onto the ground.
Bills Players Unite in Support of Injured Teammate
McDaniel asked what the team did not do in response to events of the 2022 season, he replied saying it would not impact how the team handles Tagovailoa this time.
“I think it’s important to approach every situation … every injury with [the mindset of], ‘We’re going to handle this particular situation with this particular player,'” stated the coach. “Each circumstance is distinct. All that worries me is the human being, who will steer the ship as soon as we have the necessary knowledge. I am not concerned about anything that is beyond my control. But daily well-being is more important, especially in light of concussions.”
Including his last season at Alabama, Tagovailoa suffered four diagnosed concussions in the last five years. In playing for the Crimson Tide in the year 2019, he got a concussion and broke the nose in the same pass he dislocated his hip and fractured the rear side of the socket.
McDaniel was asked if it was safe for Tagovailoa to play football at all given his history of concussions. McDaniel who seemed irritated, every time he was asked said he did not wish to prognosticate.
“I don’t tackle topics in which I lack theoretical understanding. All I’m doing is helping out my colleague,” he remarked. It doesn’t seem acceptable for me to go ahead and foresee things in my non-field of expertise that I don’t know. I believe tomorrow will provide additional details about Tua’s whereabouts. He will have ample opportunity to undergo evaluation, following which we will engage in discussions and make any necessary advances.”
Some of the players of the Bills also talked about their concern and solidarity towards Tagovailoa after the match.
Head coach Sean McDermott added that the player’s injury “didn’t look good,” and expressed his concern for Tagovailoa as well as his family. Buffalo Bills’ quarterback, Josh Allen described Tagovailoa to be an “even greater human being than just being a football player,” before expressing his best wishes for Tagovailoa’s family.
“Very depressing. The worst aspect of the game is that, according to Allen. “All we can do is give him and his family love and prayers, which I hope everyone is doing as he will need them. It is the game’s worst feature.”
For more follow Sports Dribble on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
My name is Krishanu Das the founder of the Sports Dribble.
I am Accountant by profession but a Sports Blogger by passion.
I am passionate about sharing my all knowledge and experiences of sports, with my readers and every sports enthusiast.
