Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and was quickly ruled out during the second half of Thursday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Following his exit, Tagovailoa remained at Hard Rock Stadium in the locker room and did not leave for a hospital. Head coach Mike McDaniel, who spoke with Tagovailoa on the field and in the locker room, said his quarterback was “in good spirits.”
“My thought was concern,” McDaniel of his initial reaction to Tagovailoa’s injury. “I was just worried about my guy. Not something you ever want to be a part of, you hope not to.”
The Dolphins’ franchise signal-caller has a history of concussions, having been sidelined twice before because of them, which made the incident all the more frightening. He’ll undergo further testing on Friday, but a timetable for when he might be available was not paramount in a concerned McDaniel’s mind.
“The furthest thing from my mind is what is the timeline,” McDaniel said. “We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are. We will get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from there.”
Tagovailoa, with Miami trailing by the 31-10 final score, lowered his head and hit the right arm of Bills safety Damar Hamlin with 4:24 to in the third quarter on a 6-yard scramble to the Buffalo 7-yard line.
Tagovailoa, 26, struggled to immediately get up, with his arm contorted in alarming fashion. He was attended to on the field, McDaniel was among those who ran onto the field, and then walked off under his own power and to the locker room.
Tagovailoa was replaced in Thursday’s game by backup Skylar Thompson. Tagovailoa’s night ended with a stat line of 145 yards passing, a touchdown and three interceptions.
During the 2022 season, Tagovailoa missed five games, including a postseason contest, due to concussions. In Week 4 of that season, Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field against the Cincinnati Bengals and missed two weeks thereafter. Then on Christmas of that year, he was again concussed in a game against the Green Bay Packers and lost for the remainder of the season.
In the 2023 campaign — one in which the quarterback doggedly prepared himself to avoid head injuries, such as training in jiu jitsu to better fall — Tagovailoa had his best showing yet. He threw for 4,624 yards, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as he led the Fins to a second straight postseason. In the offseason, the 2020 NFL Draft’s No. 5 overall pick secured his first extension, inking a four-year, $212.4 million extension.
Two games into his first season after signing a long-term pact, Tagovailoa’s health is once again a major concern, for this season and those ahead.
“I’m just worried about the human being, and he’ll drive the ship when we get the appropriate information,” McDaniel said. “but it’s day-by-day health.”
