Dolphins place Tua Tagovailoa on injured list after recent concussion

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins have placed Tua Tagovailoa on the injured list after the quarterback was diagnosed with his third concussion in two years, the team announced Tuesday.

Tagovailoa will miss at least four games with the decision. He will be eligible to play again in Week 8 when the Dolphins host Arizona, but must successfully complete a series of tests and evaluations required by the NFL's concussion protocol before he can return to the field.

Tagovailoa was injured in the third quarter of a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills on a play in which he collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin. He ran for a first down and then initiated contact by lowering his shoulder toward Hamlin instead of sliding.

Players from both teams immediately signaled that Tagovailoa was injured, and as he lay on the turf, the quarterback displayed some of the typical symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. He remained on the field for a few minutes, then got up and walked to the sideline. The Dolphins diagnosed him with a concussion just minutes later.

Coach Mike McDaniel has since cautioned against speculation about the quarterback's future, stressing that he is more focused on Tagovailoa getting healthy than what this latest concussion means for the team or his long-term career. Tagovailoa began consulting neurologists about his health this week after reports emerged that he has no plans to end his career.

Other NFL players have also expressed their opinions on Tagovailoa's future, including Raiders coach Antonio Pierce, who suggested he should retire.

“As far as Tua's career goes, my number one priority is for Tua to talk about Tua's career,” McDaniel said Monday. “Reports are reports. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just concerned about the guy and how he's doing day to day. I'll let Tua be the master of his own career.”

McDaniel said Tagovailoa was at the team's practice facility on Monday, smiling with his teammates and working with trainers.

“He's doing well, man. I've talked to him, he's in good spirits,” Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle said Monday. “(He) has put the team in a good mood and everyone is praying for him and hoping for his health.”

Head injuries have become an all too familiar and all too frightening occurrence over the course of Tagovailoa's career.

In a September 2022 game against Buffalo, he was hit by linebacker Matt Milano, causing him to crash to the ground. He appeared disoriented afterward and stumbled as he tried to get back to his feet. He was cleared to play the game and later said that a back injury was the cause of the stumble. He was not diagnosed with a concussion.

Four days later, during a Thursday night game in Cincinnati, he was hit again, briefly lost consciousness, and was carried off the field on a stretcher. As he lay on the turf, his fingers appeared to exhibit the “fencing reaction,” a term usually associated with a brain injury. This time, he was placed in concussion protocol.

Tagovailoa's situation sparked rapid and significant changes to concussion protocols by the NFL and NFL Players Association, the most important of which was that an abnormality of balance and/or stability is a symptom that prevents a player from returning to play.

Tagovailoa briefly considered retiring afterward, but instead returned and studied ways to better protect himself on the field, including taking jiu-jitsu classes ahead of the 2023 season.

Tagovailoa said he has spoken to numerous neurologists who told him they do not believe he is more vulnerable to head injuries in the future than any other player, nor that he is at a higher risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head. He was also diagnosed with a concussion while at Alabama.

With Tagovailoa out, the Dolphins will travel to Seattle on Sunday with backup Skylar Thompson. Miami has also signed Tyler Huntley from the Ravens' practice squad.

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