Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t intend to retire, despite calls from former players and a prominent doctor to do so after he suffered his most recent concussion, NFL Network reported on Sunday.
The 26-year-old sustained a concussion – at least his third in four NFL seasons – in Thursday night’s game against the Bills, when he ran on fourth down and collided with Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin. After being attended to by medical personnel, he walked off the field.
According to NFL Network, Tagovailoa has met with doctors specializing in concussions with the eventual goal of being cleared to return to the field. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has said there is no timeline for Tagovailoa to return and that his chief concern lies with his quarterback as a person, not a player.
Tagovailoa missed five games in 2022 because of a pair of concussions. That history has left former players – one of them a current NFL head coach – worried for his future.
“I’ll be honest, I’d tell him to retire. It’s not worth it,” Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “I just think at some point, he’s going to live longer than he’s going to play football. Take care of your family.”
Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe also expressed his concerns. “Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it ,” Sharpe posted to social media after Thursday’s incident. “His concussions are getting worse and worse and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him.”
Dr Bennet Omalu, who inspired the 2015 movie Concussion, told TMZ Sports that Tagovailoa could become “permanently incapacitated” should he continue playing, adding he could have “catastrophic and permanent brain damage” with another hit.
“If I were his brother, his father, his uncle, cousin, nephew, if I were a member of his family,” Omalu said, “I would beg him to retire.”
Tagovailoa said in 2023 that he considered retirement, but that he felt he was too young to walk away from the sport. “I considered it for a time, having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kind of conversations,” Tagovailoa said. “But it will be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am.”
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The Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the No 5 overall pick in the 2020 draft and signed him to a four-year, $212.4m contract extension in the offseason. He has already earned $73m so far in his career.
Tagovailoa has appeared in 55 games and is 33-20 as a starter since entering the NFL. He has completed 66.8% of his passes for 13,122 yards with 83 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. He led the NFL in passing yards last season and was named to his first Pro Bowl.
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