On Sept. 12, the Miami Dolphins played against the Buffalo Bills, losing by a final score of 31-10. The fan’s minds, however, were not focused on the game's outcome but rather the condition of the Dolphins’ starting quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, who left the game in the third quarter with a major concussion.
Since being drafted into the league in 2020, Tagovailoa has now suffered three serious concussions, with the first two happening in 2022 against the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. The second concussion took place during Thursday Night Football, with much of the nation watching Tagovailoa be rendered unconscious by the vicious hit.
The combination of all three gruesome head injuries has led to many coaches, players and pundits questioning his ability to continue to play the game safely, with some calling for Tagovailoa to retire.
“I'll be honest, I'd tell him to retire. It's not worth it… Playing the game, I haven't witnessed anything like what's happened to him three times. Scary -- you could see right away; the players' faces on the field. You could see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help. I just think at some point -- he's going to live longer than he's going to play football. Take care of your family,” Las Vegas Raiders coach and former National Football Leagu player Antonio Pierce said.
Others think retirement would be a controversial decision, as Tagovailoa has been one of the most prolific young quarterbacks in the NFL over the past four seasons. In 2022, he led the NFL in passer rating (105.5), becoming the youngest player to do so since fellow Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino in 1984. He then went on to be named to the Pro Bowl in 2023, throwing for a career-best 4624 yards. Moreover, he just signed a lucrative contract, giving him a four-year, 212.4 million extension, with 167 million guaranteed, making the money situation difficult for both him and the Dolphins if he were to end his career now.
Tagovailoa has yet to make any decision regarding his future, but he is currently on injured reserve, meaning that he will be forced to miss at least the next four Dolphins games per league rules. Because of his position on IR, the Dolphins organization is also not required to give updates on his health status and thus has not revealed many details.
“Every situation is unique. I am not worried about anything that's out of my hands in terms of, I'm just worried about the human being, and he'll drive the ship when we get the appropriate information. But it's day-by-day health ... particularly with concussions,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said.
The injury has reignited the long-held debate among players, coaches and fans about the risk versus reward involved in playing football. People are wondering if it is worth playing a game that may lead to fame and fortune but will cost an individual their future health.
NFL players are infamous for suffering from Chronic Traumatic Enthalpy or other brain diseases after their playing careers. CTE is a disease that causes dementia and premature death in most cases. However, a recent study by Dr. Daniel Daneshvar from Massachusetts General Hospital and Dr. Jesse Mez from Boston University revealed that concussions and CTE may not be as related as was once thought.
“These results provide added evidence that repeated non-concussive head injuries are a major driver of CTE pathology rather than symptomatic concussions,” Mez said.
Those on the side of Tagovailoa continuing to play argue that his concussions have not caused as much damage as was originally believed, and some think that he may be safe playing if he can avoid more repeated hits to the head that are uncommon for quarterbacks. However, those in favor of retirement argue that there is no guarantee that he will be able to avoid more concussions or other injuries if he continues to play.
“The Dolphins and NFL have a responsibility to this young man to help him gracefully end his career and move into some other aspect of the game. Four or five concussions is enough. This is way beyond football right now and about his future. Just a shame,” one of Tagovailoa’s Twitter fans said.
Tagovailoa’s future is currently unknown, but it is unlikely that he will retire, with many fans speculating that he may return for the Dolphins after their week six bye if he can clear the league’s concussion protocol. The question remains if he plays again: is it worth the risk?
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