Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa suffers concussion in game with Bills
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left tonight’s NFL game against the Buffalo Bills after taking a shot to the head and the team later said he suffered a concussion.
Tagovailoa, a Saint Louis School alum, took off on a run up the field on fourth-and-4 in the third quarter. After passing the first-down mark, Tagovailoa did not slide and then collided with Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin.
He stayed on the ground after he couldn’t get up. He reached up with his right arm and was seen flexing his fingers.
Tagovailoa eventually limped off the field and headed straight for the locker room. The Dolphins later announced that Tagovailoa had a concussion and would not return to the game.
“He was in good spirits,” Miami coach Mike McDaniel said in his postgame press conference. “I was just worried about my guy. It’s not something you ever want to be a part of. Right now it’s more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time. The furthest thing from my mind is what is the timeline.”
Tagovailoa, who signed a four-year contract extension worth $212.4 million in July, was diagnosed with two concussions during the 2022 season and potentially had a third when he hit his head on the ground in a game against the Bills.
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Four days later, on Thursday Night Football, Tagovailoa hit his head on the field and was eventually taken off the field in an ambulance against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The fallout led to the firing of the NFL Players Association’s independent neurotrauma consultant and led the league and union to revise their concussion policy.
He returned to play 26 days later and played nine more games that season before he suffered another concussion against the Green Bay Packers.
Tagovailoa has admitted in an interview that he considered retirement after the 2022 season.
The Bills won tonight’s game 31-10.
Field Level Media contributed to this report.