During week two of the 2024 NFL season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion against the Buffalo Bills in the second half of the matchup. Concussions in the National Football League don’t typically receive too much attention, but Tagovailoa has garnered a lot of concern regarding his history of serious concussions. In 2023, there was a total of 219 concussions suffered in preseason and regular-season practices and games.
The number of concussions reported and diagnosed in a single season is alarming, especially considering the length of a season. The National Football League’s increase in the length of their season to 17 games starting in 2021 adds more games for possible concussions and serious injuries. The Dolphins quarterback has been diagnosed with three concussions in his NFL career. He also suffered a concussion in 2019 during his last year playing for the University of Alabama. The most recent concussion has resulted in the Miami Dolphins placing Tagovailoa on the NFL’s Injured Reserve, which means the quarterback must miss a minimum of his team’s next four games.
During his time off, according to ESPN, Tagovailoa will meet with independent neurologists to assess the current concussion and consider his past. The same source states that, “He has no plans to retire prior to meeting with the neurologists.” With no plan to retire at the moment, the neurologists’ opinions will be a decisive factor in Tagovailoa’s decision to stay in the NFL or retire.
The Economic Times consulted a CBS Sports Contributor and salary cap expert Joe Corry who believes “Tagovailoa will eventually be exempted from the NFL’s concussion protocol.”
If Tagovailoa were to retire from the NFL right now, he would be guaranteed $167.2 million from his contract with the Miami Dolphins, roughly 80% of his current contract money.
Immediately following the collision with Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, Tagovailoa lay on the field and received a medical assessment before walking off, unassisted. Hamlin, the defensive safety, suffered a frightening injury himself in the 2023 season, where he went into cardiac arrest on the Buffalo Bills field and spent nine days in the hospital.
Injuries in the NFL are common and unavoidable, but the way that the NFL addresses the injuries can be changed. In recent years the NFL Players Association has made numerous changes to the way injuries and potential injuries are assessed during and after NFL games. Tagovailoa became important to the NFLPA in 2022 when he was assessed in the middle of a game for injuries and sent back onto the field after sustaining a head injury. The NFLPA updated their policies for medical staff assessing injuries following an investigation into the release of Tagovailoa mid-game. Now medical staff assesses players further for head injuries and looks for signs of neurological damage.
The NFL Players Association has played a large role in improving the NFL’s ability to assess and mitigate the risk of injuries. While the jury remains out on Tagovailoa’s return, it certainly seems as though public and fan sentiment believes that it might be best for him to hang up the cleats.
