As Miami Dolphins fans have been expecting, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will speak with representatives from both the NFL and NFLPA on Tuesday as part of their joint investigation into his Sept. 25 concussion check.
#Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa is speaking today with reps from the NFL and NFLPA as part of the joint investigation into his Sept. 25 concussion check, I’m told.
The hope is to wrap up the investigation within the week. The NFL has said findings will be released publicly.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 4, 2022
As NFL fans know quite well by now, there has been a lot of concern regarding the fact that Tagovailoa was allowed back into a game versus the Buffalo Bills after he showed signs of possibly having suffered a head injury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXdjWIYNlr8
While he showed no further signs of injury in that game, he suffered a terrifying injury several days later versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is a disaster. Pray for Tua. Fire the medical staffs and coaches. I predicted this and I hate that I am right. Two concussions in 5 days can kill someone. This can end careers. How are we so stupid in 2022. pic.twitter.com/D8S8eEbgda
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) September 30, 2022
Head injuries are known to be much worse if they come shortly after a previous head injury. There is a belief that by putting Tagovailoa back into the game versus the Bills, the team risked his health and safety in a major way.
There are some who even believe that Tagovailoa should retire from the game of football.
While the investigation is currently ongoing, the good news is that Tagovailoa himself seems to be healing. The team is now being “very cautious” with the young quarterback, and head coach Mike McDaniel recently confirmed that the MRI results for Tagovailoa came back clean.
Regardless of the good news, it is absolutely paramount that the league uncover whether or not there was any wrongdoing. After all, the NFLPA has already fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who performed the first concussion test for making “several mistakes.”
I’m told the unaffiliated neurotrama consultant involved in Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion test last Sunday was fired after the NFLPA found the person made several mistakes, per source.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) October 1, 2022
The question now remains whether that consultant was possibly put under pressure to clear Tagovailoa to play.
Going forward, it is unclear when Tagovailoa will suit up for a game again. He has already been ruled out for the Dolphins’ upcoming game versus the New York Jets. The next game he could potentially suit up for is the Week 6 versus the Minnesota Vikings.
The truth is that Tagovailoa might miss many games before finally suiting back up. It’s really hard to know, as he and the team are in somewhat uncharted waters at the moment. Surely, he will continue to progress and receive regular checkups.
As for the investigation, hopefully it sheds light on what went wrong so that similar mistakes can be avoided in the future.
