The NFL Players Association and NFL committee will conduct further investigations into the Miami Dolphins’ decision to allow Tua Tagovailoa to return in the last game against the Buffalo Bills.
Tagovailoa exited the game near the end of the second quarter and was sent to the locker room for medical evaluation after colliding with Bills’ linebacker Matt Milano. He looked disoriented as he stood up.
He was initially diagnosed with a head injury and missed the last three snaps of the first half. At first, it was uncertain whether he could return, but Tagovailoa returned to start the third quarter.
The NFLPA was concerned about Tagovailoa’s condition. According to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, any player who shows ‘gross motor instability’ is ineligible to return unless the team medical personnel, in consultation with the sideline unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, identifies that the instability is not caused by neurological factors.
The NFLPA then started an investigation into the incident, as well as how Tagovailoa was cleared during halftime.
The NFLPA is launching an investigation into how the Dolphins handled Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion check via @TomPelissero pic.twitter.com/V52egLNnxc
— Palace Sports (@ThePalaceSports) September 25, 2022
Dolphins deny Tagovailoa played with concussion
In the meantime, the Dolphins’ medical team denied that Tagovailoa was in concussion protocol. Miami’s head coach Mike McDaniel said that Tagovailoa suffered a back injury.
He saw that Tagovailoa hit his head on the ground and initially assumed it was a head injury. The head coach said that Tagovailoa’s legs got wobbly because his lower back was loose, but the team will know more after further tests.
“It’s my first time on a Thursday night game with Tua, so I don’t assume anything,” McDaniel said. “But, it wasn’t out of the extreme norm of bumps and bruises after a game.”
McDaniel said the team welcomed the NFLPA’s investigation and was pleased with the process they followed on Sunday.
Tua: Felt like I hyperextended my back or something. My back kind of locked up on me.
— Hal Habib (@gunnerhal) September 25, 2022
“I don’t mess around with that,” he said. “Tua was pretty annoyed with me in the game when I was talking to him because he knew what hurt and didn’t understand why people kept talking to him about what we were talking to him about.”
Tagovailoa also said to reporters that he was suffering from a back injury, as did his coach. He reportedly underwent a full concussion evaluation and “passed whatever concussion protocol they had.”
“I kind of got my legs caught under someone, and they were trying to push back, and it kind of felt like I hyperextended my back or something,” Tagovailoa said. “Then on the next play, I kind of hit my back, it kind of hurt, and I got up, and that’s why I stumbled — my back kind of locked up on me.”
Aside from the bad news, his last game against the Bills made the Dolphins improve to 3-0 for the second time since 2014. He returned to the game and led the team to a 21-19 victory. The under-third-year quarterback finished the game with 86 yards on 13-of-18 passing with a touchdown and no interceptions thrown.
In the postgame press conference, he said that he felt “uncomfortable” after returning to the field, but the adrenaline helped him to play through the discomfort. His current goal is to get back into shape and be ready to play on Thursday.
McDaniel did not say whether Tagovailoa would play Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.
This is what happened to Tua Tagovailoa after his head hit the turf hard. Not sure how you let him back in.
(🎥 @EmmanuelAcho)pic.twitter.com/OiAJwaN5RI
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 25, 2022