Tagovailoa will not retire, per report. More details as he recovers from concussion.
MIAMI — Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa does not intend to retire after sustaining at least the fourth concussion of his life on Thursday against Buffalo, NFL Network reported Sunday.
Tagovailoa is meeting with concussion specialists, and he and doctors will determine when he returns to the field, in accordance with the NFL’s concussion protocol system.
“My understanding is Tua Tagovailoa has no plans to retire,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said Sunday. “No plans to retire. His eyes are ready on returning to the football field. As far as when that goes, we simply do not know. Every concussion is different.
“The way every player responds to a concussion is different. He will be healthy enough to play. When he is healthy enough to play is when he and his doctors decide that.
“He has already begun the process of seeing concussion specialists, as he did in 2022. I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw the same doctors. The goal is to get on the field when he is ready. I wouldn’t be surprised if he misses multiple games.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported later Sunday that Tagovailoa “would like to continue playing and doesn’t have any plans to retire. That is, going into the meeting with neurologists. Which will help give him more information and make an informed decision.”
Coach Mike McDaniel has said that Tagovailoa is expected to miss next Sunday’s game at Seattle but has declined to speculate on a timetable beyond that because it’s unknown, and because the coach said discussing that is discouraged by doctors because it causes anxiety for a concussed player.
There is medical evidence that suggests people who have one concussion are more likely to have another within a short period of time.
Skylar Thompson will start in Tagovailoa’s absence, McDaniel has indicated.
When McDaniel spoke with reporters on Friday, he said it was too soon to know if Tagovailoa would be placed on injured reserve. If the Dolphins place Tagovailoa on injured reserve, he would be required to miss at least four games — Sept. 22 at Seattle, Sept. 30 against Tennessee on “Monday Night Football,” Oct. 6 at New England and Oct. 20 at Indianapolis. Miami’s first game after that is at home Oct. 27 against Arizona.
Players must proceed through a five-step protocol to be cleared to return from a concussion and can enter the final phase of that protocol (full practices and contact) only after authorization from a team doctor and an independent physician.
In an interview with the Miami Herald on Saturday, Chris Nowinski — a neuroscientist and co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation — said Tagovailoa should sit out at least four weeks, even if he’s asymptomatic this week, but could safely return to the field as long as symptoms dissipate.
Tagovailoa sustained the concussion in the third quarter of Thursday’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo when he scrambled for a first down and lowered his head as Bills safety Damar Hamlin moved in to make the tackle.
“I was just trying to make a routine tackle, trying to get them off the field on fourth down,” Hamlin said.
Tagovailoa — who agreed to a four-year, $212 million contract extension in July — was diagnosed with two concussions during the 2022 season and absorbed a third hit to the head that was originally diagnosed by doctors as a back injury but was likely a concussion, according to two concussion experts contacted by the Miami Herald.
Tagovailoa missed two games after sustaining a concussion against Cincinnati during that 2022 season — a concussion that some doctors now believe was his second in five days. He missed the final three games of the season (including Miami’s playoff loss in Buffalo) after sustaining a concussion on Christmas against Green Bay during that 2022 season.
