Tua Tagovailoa suffers another scary concussion during third quarter of Thursday Night Football shellacking.
I apologize for the name of the article this week.
There will be no “good” from Thursday night’s game. There will not even be a “bad” — although most of it was.
Thursday’s defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills was nothing short of “ugly” in every sense of the word. Nearly every single second of the contest felt cursed in the cruelest way imaginable. Yes, the lopsided score that was a result of the Miami Dolphins being utterly dominated by their hated division rival on national television in front of the entire world once again certainly contributes to those feelings.
However, the real reason for the sheer despondency emanating from the Dolphins fanbase today can be directly attributed to watching starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa frozen in a posturing pose on the grass of Hard Rock Stadium, clearly displaying a terrifying fencing response after lowering his helmet towards the end of a first-down scramble and striking a Bills defender (who didn’t even really hit him back) squarely in the chest — actions that resulted in yet another terrifying concussion for the 26-year-old signal caller.
Tagovailoa has a well-documented history with concussions during his time in the National Football League. It was just two seasons ago when the young player was forced to miss multiple games after suffering two confirmed concussions, while also likely suffering a third that was never properly disclosed.
This offseason, it was revealed that Tagovailoa strongly considered retirement after the 2022 season — with some in his family pleading with him to choose that option.
Instead, Tagovailoa chose to continue playing football — also choosing to learn how to fall properly while studying jiu-jitsu. He worked to add size to his frame. Those decisions paid off in 2023, with the quarterback having his best year yet as a professional en route to an NFL passing yards crown and a massive contract extension just a couple of months ago.
Yet, Tagovailoa was still not fully happy with his performance, and aimed to once again slim down in an effort to regain some of his college mobility.
On Thursday, we witnessed the consequences to that decision.
As Tagovailoa laid on the grass being attended to by multiple members of Miami’s medical staff with his coaches surrounding his vulnerable body and his teammates kneeling in prayer just a short distance away, Dolphins fans around the world, with tears in their eyes, knew that there would be no comeback on this ill-fated night.
Now, those tear-filled eyes turn towards the hurting young man. Will he ever play football again? Could you even blame him if he chose not to?
Those questions will be answered in due time, but for now, we all send our love, our hope, our prayers and positivity to someone who even Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen called a “great football player, but an even greater human being.”
Rest up, Tua. Whatever your future holds, Dolphins fans will always be rooting for you.
