Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa left Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Bills with a concussion, the team announced.
After a fourth-down run in the third quarter, Tagovailoa collided head-first with Bills safety Damar Hamlin as he went to the ground. Tagovailoa’s teammates immediately called for trainers as he laid on the field before he eventually walked off under his own power.
Last season was the only year in his career in which Tagovailoa appeared in every game for the Dolphins. In 2022, he played in just 13 games after suffering two concussions.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals on a Thursday night game that season, Tagovailoa suffered his first concussion, exhibiting the fencing response after his head hit the ground on a sack.
The concussion Tagovailoa suffered against the Bengals came on the heels of a controversy in which the NFLPA believed he wasn’t properly evaluated for a concussion four days earlier in a game against Buffalo. Tagovailoa briefly left that game with an injury but wasn’t checked for a concussion, eventually leading to the NFLPA firing the independent neurotrauma consultant in charge of pulling players with a suspected head injury off the field. The controversy resulted in a new concussion protocol for NFL players.
Tagovailia was then concussed again later in the year in a game against the Green Bay Packers, though he was not diagnosed with one until the day after the game.
Tagovailoa is in his fifth season with the Dolphins, who selected him with the fifth pick in the 2020 NFL draft. He led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards last season. Entering Thursday, Tagovailoa was 33-19 in his career with 82 touchdowns and 37 interceptions.
In July, the Dolphins signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract, with $167 million guaranteed.
