Experts and fans alike may be calling for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to retire from the game after his latest concussion, but just like in 2022, it doesn’t appear to be where his heart lies.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning before the Week 2 slate kicked off that Tagovailoa, who left “Thursday Night Football” against the Buffalo Bills with a concussion, has no plans on retiring despite yet another head injury.
The same conversation arose in 2022 when Tagovailoa suffered three concussions in one season.
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Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is assisted on the field during the Buffalo Bills game, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Tua Tagovailoa and his doctors will be making the decisions about his playing, his health. They will be driving the process,” Rapoport began. “My understanding is that Tua Tagovailoa has no plans to retire. No plans to retire. In fact, his eyes are already on returning to the football field.”
When exactly Tagovailoa may return remains to be seen, but Rapoport is getting the feeling the same situation could unfurl this time around as it did in 2022.
“Every concussion is different. The way every player responds to a concussion is different,” he said. “He will be healthy enough to play when he is healthy enough to play, when he and his doctors decide that.
DOLPHINS’ MIKE MCDANIEL PUMPS BRAKES ON TUA TAGOVAILOA RETIREMENT TALK
“He has already begun the process of seeing concussion specialists as he did in 2022.”
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel did not put a timeline on Tagovailoa returning, and Miami might have to see if there’s a free agent quarterback they can add to the room that has Skylar Thompson and Tim Boyle already in it.
McDaniel also pumped the brakes on Tagovailoa retiring, despite what many pundits and fans have pushed out on social media.
“I think it would be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject, and it’s more in line of actually caring about the human being and that’s something that entirely you’re talking about his career, right?” McDaniel explained. “His career is his, and that’s something that I really, really, really wish – I totally understand it, and it’s not misplaced.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel talks to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as he leaves the Buffalo Bills game after suffering a concussion, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
“I totally get how that’s where people want to go to. I just wish that people would for a second hear what I’m saying, that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him, so I’m going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care, that that should be the last thing on your mind, because – what do you think if I were to answer that question? I’d be like, ‘All right, this is my thoughts on his career’ and he read it. If he agreed with it or he disagreed with it, either way I’ve just made him worse.”
In 2022, Tagovailoa appeared to suffer a concussion against the Bills at home, but it was ruled that he was dealing with a back injury, leading to him stumbling after noticeably smacking his head on the ground during a play.
Then, just days later on “Thursday Night Football” against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tagovailoa was thrashed to the ground during a sack and he smashed his head on the turf. A disturbing scene unfolded as his hands were posturing, an occurrence that sometimes comes with head injuries where the fingers curl.
Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field, leading to some calling for his retirement right then and there. However, after just two weeks, he was back quarterbacking the Dolphins. But it didn’t last for the entire season, as Week 16 saw him suffer yet another concussion, this time against the Green Bay Packers.
Tagovailoa’s season was done after that, and the offseason was consumed by talks of retirement before he addressed the situation.
Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins before the Buffalo Bills game at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
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The Dolphins came into this season confident after watching Tagovailoa play the entire 2023 campaign, and they even signed him to a massive four-year extension.
Now, all that matters is his health as he looks to recover from this latest concussion. But getting back on the field, not hanging up his helmet for good, appears to be what Tagovailoa wants.
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