During a Week 2 31-10 loss vs. the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a blow to the head, in which was diagnosed as his third official NFL concussion of his career.
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Tua Tagovailoa having another one of them concussions. PRAY! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/iugiuGKRR7
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) September 13, 2024
In view of this, there were talks that 26-year-old Tua may never play football again, as many were concerned for the long-term effects of his sustained brain injuries. Nevertheless, after meeting with specialists, there has been good news surrounding Tua's health, that he has not had any setbacks throughout the recovery process.
The Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel addressed this at Monday's practice when speaking to reporters.
Mike McDaniel says for the first time that he expects Tua Tagovailoa to play football again in 2024 pic.twitter.com/7dHx44D9JR
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 14, 2024
"I do expect to see him playing football in 2024," McDaniel said. "But where that is, exactly — we'll let the process continue, since we still have time before he can even entertain anything. We'll make sure that he's diligent this week and assess after that."
When looking at Tua's previous history with head trauma, he suffered two concussions in 2022, that raised much concern regarding his future.
Very scary as Tua Tagavailoa goes down after a sack, looks like it may have been the second concussion in 4 days. Really not good. pic.twitter.com/2u0Leb69O5
— Dr. Lös Real Polyamorous Tantric Sex Guru (@LosRealAli) September 30, 2022
Then after leaving the Bills Thursday night game this season, many saw this as possibly the end of Tua's career, while recommending that retirement may be in his best interest, as the quarterback even contemplated stepping away heading into the 2023 season.
McDaniels, discussed this issue, "It was so fast from him getting hurt to immediately going into, 'alright, what's the best thing for you, Tua?' I didn't really allow myself any sort of contemplation moments on whether he would or wouldn't [play again]. I was so concerned with where he was at in his career, for his family."
"It is exciting that I do believe he'll play football this year," he continued. "I never went down that rabbit hole of whether he would or wouldn't, because I've learned through circumstance that's the wrong question to be asking. The right questions are completely, 100 percent toward the human being and the player, as a result."
As for now, the team will continue with Tyler Huntley at quarterback, who has played two games thus far, throwing for 290 yards (32-for-53) to go with one interception and one rushing TD since taking over as the signal-caller for the Dolphins, who currently have a 2-3 record.
