Should Tua Tagovailoa walk away from the NFL? | The Herd
The Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins on ‘Thursday Night Football,’ and Tua Tagovailoa suffered another injury during the loss. Colin Cowherd discusses the consequences of this injury and whether Tua should retire.
Tua Tagovailoa’s NFL future is a topic of discussion Wider debate On Thursday night he suffered a head injury for the third time in 24 months and fourth overall.
Tagovailoa fell to the field in pain and showed signs of a serious brain injury, according to several experts. being killed By Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s history of brain injuries includes two in a span of a month in the 2022 season.
Tagovailoa later admitted he sought advice from his family about whether he should continue playing football after that. But he came back to play more.
His latest injury has led to calls from professional players, former NFL players, media pundits, and concerned fans and observers for him to quit the game.
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Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is assisted on the field during the second half of the game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Tagovailoa will have to go through the NFL’s concussion protocol in the coming days. It’s possible that team trainers and doctors will eventually allow Tagovailoa to return to the field. If that happens, he will have to decide whether or not to continue playing. There’s also a possibility that doctors won’t allow him to return.
If Tagovailoa fails to pass concussion protocols for the third time in his NFL career, he could be forced to retire. If he retires, the Dolphins will have to pay a large chunk of his $212.4 million contract.
Contract signed in July dolphins general manager Chris Grier’s salary includes $167 million guaranteed. Tagovailoa has already earned $43 million of that salary, and has the right to receive the remaining $124 million if he is forced into retirement for medical reasons.
However, if he is allowed to return and still decides to retire, he will forgo the guaranteed money. He and the team will have to come to a settlement in that case.
The contract was signed after his last three concussions and even after he admitted he was thinking about retirement last offseason. But Grier said in an interview Team press conference On Feb. 28, he said he wasn’t concerned about the quarterback’s history of concussion.
When discussing Tagovailoa’s contract extension months before he signed it, Grier was asked if the quarterback’s past injuries played a role in the team’s evaluation of his offer.
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa on being told to retire from NFL after recent injury: ‘It’s not worth it’
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) suffers an apparent concussion after being hit in the head while being tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) during the second half at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Sept. 12, 2024. (Jason Winlove/Imagen Images)
“No,” Grier replied. “I think, for us, every player deals with certain things. As you’ve seen this year, you look at all the quarterback injuries across the league, and there are other quarterbacks and really good players that have had multiple season-ending injuries.”
Grier cited off-season jiu-jitsu training as a solution to the quarterback’s injury concern.
“One of the things Tua did was attack the offseason to prove he could stay healthy. He benefited from spending time learning to fall with jiujitsu and other things,” he said.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniels said he and his team are “comfortable” that jiujitsu is the only way to prevent a quarterback’s concussion.
“We had a lot of ideas, some of which I won’t repeat because they weren’t that good. We were willing to go to great lengths,” McDaniel said in an interview. Team press conference This incident also happened on 28th February.
“However, when he was investing in it and talking to him and hearing how much the trainer was investing in it and how much he was really into it and getting good residuals from it, we feel very comfortable that it’s getting him the best preparation for things that he might not have been able to prepare for otherwise. It’s something, like the follow-through throwing motion, that’s something we’re trying to coach, and he’s 100% into it, attacking it with passion and enthusiasm.”
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Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) walks off the field after a loss against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium on January 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Mattias J. Oconer/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Tagovailoa began training with jiujitsu expert Ricardo Liborio in the 2023 offseason. The goal was to train him to control his body in order to control his movements when falling to the ground and avoid hitting his head too hard against the turf.
Jiujitsu is a martial art that focuses on self-defense tactics against opponents. However, the form originated in Brazil and began as a variation of Japanese Judoka. It does not call for being tackled by a group of NFL players.
In Tagovailoa’s case, jiujitsu training didn’t matter during a single tackle by the 200-pound Hamlin. Tagovailoa was hurt when he was leaning forward to gain yards, and his head collided with Hamlin’s body.
Tagovailoa’s arms froze, what neurologists call the “fencing response,” a sign of a head injury.
Tagovailoa now has 10 days to complete the league’s concussion protocol.
If Tagovailoa doesn’t clear the protocols in the next 10 days, the team could be forced to place him on injured reserve, which would rule him out for at least four games. That could prompt the front office to start preparing for a future without their star quarterback and possibly without that $124 million.
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