Tua Tagovailoa was a full participant in practice on Friday, and it seems likely that he will be back on the field for the Miami Dolphins’ Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals. The final step before clearing the NFL’s concussion protocol is to be cleared by an independent neurological consultant.
Despite another scary scene in September that has ex-players pleading with people to consider retirement, the star quarterback has chosen to pursue a comeback after a concussion known four times between college and NFL career.
Tagovailoa also won’t be using the new helmet option available to players—”personal “hoice”—but helmet safety technology isn’t what’s going to save his career, in my view.
Men should slide.
Tagovailoa’s concussion in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills could have been avoided if he had dropped his rear end to the ground to slide feet-first and avoid contact, the way quarterbacks have been taught to do it for decades. However, after gaining the necessary yardage for a first down in a scramble up the middle, Tagovailoa semi-lunged into Damar Hamlin’s interception attempt, needlessly lowering his head on the defender.
What’s frustrating for his supporters and teammates is that this isn’t a bad decision. Tyreek Hill said his teammates have been asking Tagovailoa to slide for a while now.
“When we were playing against the Colts, you saw the fans start clapping for Anthony Richardson when he slid,” Hill said. “I say our fans should clap for Tua; make him slide.”
Flash forward to 2022. After Tagovailoa’s concussion against the Bengals—the fence response and hospitalization, the controversy over whether he was properly cleared to play in the days leading up to the game—it’s less than a month before he returns to face the Steelers.
Twice in the game, he lowered his head and shoulders behind the running back, scaring everyone watching.
The following week, Tagovailoa summed it up: “Obviously, I had a coach tell me, ‘We don’t want you to do this.’ Obviously, I know, because of the injury and what happened before the concussion, it’s football, and for me, I can see the first one and want to do everything I ask.”
There are all kinds of problems.
Tagovailoa lets his competitive instincts override his need for self-preservation. It led to another concussion last month against Buffalo. Now his teammates and coaches are urging him to slide.
“We can say that to him until he’s blue in the face, but one thing I would say is, ‘Hey, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Right?'” Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert said there. “We would bring Tua to that water, but he could not drink it. He has an understanding of this, and moving forward, he will do his best.
That’s admittedly pretty wild to make about a franchise quarterback being paid so much! Even setting aside Tagovailoa’s own well-being, his greatest ability is his availability when it comes to the well-being of the team. Miami is 1-3 since the injury. He’s counting on them to play it safer, or at least more wisely, to further the team’s long-term goals.
NC State quarterback Grayson McCall retired from football this week after suffering the latest in a series of concussions. McCall was a very exciting player to watch at Coastal Carolina the day before the move, but the latest is his latest helmet.
“The brain specialist, family, and I have decided it’s best to hang up the cleats,” McCall wrote on social media. “Because I felt like the whole world was taken from me, I felt comfortable. Every time my feet hit the grass, I left every ounce of myself on the field. I always played my hardest and my best because I never knew what the end would be.
Even if you think ACC quarterbacks make NIL money, McCall didn’t make one hundredth of Tagovailoa’s career earnings from football.
In other words, Tagovailoa has the financial security to retire early.
McCall has a lot more to play with if he’s stubborn enough.
McCall made his decision. Tagovailoa has made him.
Players’ personal medical histories vary, as do motivations, so concussion-related decisions won’t be the same for everyone.
“I appreciate your concern. I really am,” Tagovailoa told those concerned about his health. “I love this game. And I love it to death.”
I just hope he listens to the concerns of the coaches and brothers at the Dolphins.