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Marcel Louis Jacques, ESPN
MIAMI – Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left the team’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night after suffering a concussion in the third quarter, the third concussion diagnosed in his NFL career.
Late in the third quarter, Tagovailoa rushed toward the middle for a first down and dropped his shoulder to initiate contact with Bills’ Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s helmet hit Hamlin’s body, and the quarterback immediately went into an unnatural position with his arms in an unnatural position.
Dolphins medical personnel treated him for several minutes while players knelt around him. He eventually made it off the field on his own and into the team’s locker room. He was quickly ruled out of the game.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa will receive “appropriate procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The last thing I can think of is: What is the timeline? We just need to evaluate and worry about my teammate, like the rest of the players,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
McDaniel said some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa talked to some players and then went home after the game.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, and I’ve built a great relationship with him,” said center Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player, and everyone in the organization would say the same thing. I just pray for Tua and hope things work out.”
Tagovailoa was the subject of widespread attention in 2022, when he hit the back of his head on the ground in a game against the Bills. He stumbled on his way back to the Dolphins huddle and left the game briefly before returning from what was described as a back injury.
The NFL and NFL Players Association launched a joint investigation into Tagovailoa’s treatment, leading the NFL to fire the non-NFL neurologist who had allowed Tagovailoa to return to the game. The NFL also changed its concussion policy to include an ataxia clause—allowing a monitor to remove players from a game if they exhibit certain concussion symptoms.
Four days later, Tagovailoa hit the back of his head the same way during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, briefly losing consciousness. He was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. McDaniel and the Dolphins were heavily criticized for allowing him to play.
Tagovailoa missed two games before returning to the field but suffered another concussion during a Dec. 25 game against the Green Bay Packers. This time, the Dolphins suspended him for the rest of the season.
Tagovailoa said he briefly considered retiring after the 2022 season after talking to his family. During an interview with “The Dan Le Batard Show,” he explained that his mother had asked him to consider retiring. He decided against it and spent the offseason gaining weight and training in jiu-jitsu to learn how to fall without hitting his head on the ground.
The coaching was a success; he played in all 17 regular-season games in 2023 and the Dolphins’ playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. In the offseason, he signed a four-year, $212.1 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in team history.
McDaniel said it was not his place to decide whether Tagovailoa should return to football. “He will be evaluated and we will have conversations and make appropriate progress,” he added.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel sorry for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon after the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best human beings on the planet. I have so much love for him and I’m praying for him and his family, hoping that everything turns out okay. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it has its ups and downs — and this is one of the worst moments.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
