Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa exits loss to Bills with concussion

MIAMI — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills after suffering a concussion in the third quarter, the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career.

Late in the third quarter, Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle for a first down and lowered his shoulder to initiate contact with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s helmet made hard contact with Hamlin’s body, and the quarterback immediately went into a fencing response with his arms in an unnatural position.

Dolphins medical trainers attended to him for several minutes as players knelt around him. He was ultimately able to walk off the field under his own power and into the team’s locker room. He was quickly ruled out for the game.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.

“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”

Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.

“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”

Tagovailoa was the subject of widespread attention in 2022, when he hit the back of his head on the ground in a game against the Bills. He stumbled on his way back to the Dolphins’ huddle and briefly left the game before returning from what was described as a back injury.

The NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into how Tagovailoa was handled, leading to the NFLPA exercising its right to fire the unaffiliated neurological consultant who cleared Tagovailoa to return to the game. The NFL also altered its concussion policy to include an ataxia clause — allowing a spotter to have players removed from the game if they show certain concussion symptoms.

Four days later, Tagovailoa hit the back of his head on the ground in similar fashion during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals and was briefly rendered unconscious. He was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. Afterward, McDaniel and the Dolphins drew heavy criticism for allowing him to play.

Tagovailoa sat out two games before returning to the field but suffered another concussion during a Dec. 25 game against the Green Bay Packers. This time, the Dolphins shut him down for the rest of the season.

Tagovailoa said he briefly considered retirement after the 2022 season after conversations with his family. During an interview with “The Dan Le Batard Show,” he clarified that his mother asked him to consider retiring. He decided against it and spent the offseason bulking up and training in jiu-jitsu to learn how to fall without hitting his head on the ground.

The training worked; he played all 17 regular-season games in 2023 and the Dolphins’ playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. This offseason, he signed a four-year, $212.1 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in franchise history.

McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.

“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.