Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa went to the locker room after taking a massive hit, while trying to secure a first down during their game against the Buffalo Bills. The injury occurred in the third quarter when Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle for the first down and forcibly contacted with his helmet to the forearm of Bills safety Damar Hamlin. He went into a fencing response with his arms in an unnatural position. Later he was confirmed to have a concussion and missed the game post that. Looking at the development, NFL stalwarts came out to voice their advice.

Dez Bryant, a former cowboy, took to X and shared his concerns regarding Tua’s injury. He urged the NFL to put him on the concussion protocol. “That’s it….NFL, go ahead and do the right thing. Tua has had entirely way too many concussions. He need to retire for his longevity health concerns.”

After Tagovailoa fell and was slow to get up and it looked like his hands jammed for a second. However, he courageously got up and left for the locker room. This got the attention of a fellow quarterback and 3x Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes to air out his condolences for the fallen Dolphins QB. He took to X and posted, “🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽,” implying that he is praying for the QB. Meanwhile, former NFL TE Shannon Sharpe had some advice for the budding QB.

“Tua, just slide bro,” Sharpe wrote on X and later added, “Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it dwn. I H8 saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him.” For context, this is his third concussion in the last three years and the NFL has placed him on a concussion protocol.

Tagovailoa’s first injury came in 2022 when he hit the back of his head on the ground in a game against the Bills. After that, he stumbled as he went back to the Dolphins’ huddle and briefly left the game before returning. Back then, it was described as a back injury.

The NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into the matter and NFLPA eventually fired the unaffiliated neurological consultant who cleared Tagovailoa to return. Four days later, Tagovailoa hit the back of his head on the ground in a similar fashion in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The incident left him unconscious for some time.

At a local hospital, he was diagnosed with a concussion. Dolphins had faced heavy criticism for allowing him to play on that occasion. Tagovailoa missed two games. But as he returned, he sustained another concussion in a December 25 game against the Green Bay Packers. This time, the Dolphins shut him down for the remaining season. Interestingly, Tagovailoa was actually asked to consider retirement after the 2022 season.

In an interview last month with “The Dan Le Batard Show,” Tagovailoa had revealed that it was his mother who asked him for the retirement. But he chose not to do that. Instead, in the offseason, he trained in jiu-jitsu to learn how to fall without hitting his head on the ground. During Thursday’s game, Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson was very close to Tagovailoa when the injury happened.

According to Jackson, he could see in Tagovailoa’s eyes that he “wasn’t there all the way,” and he almost immediately took a knee. “Crushed. I hate to see him like that. Even with his history already with that type of stuff, I hate to see it. I hate that it was him rushing out the pocket. Wish I could get that back for all of us. I could have been better,” Jackson said. Not minutes after the injury, former NFL DE JJ Watt took to X and shared his thoughts on the QBs plight.

JJ Watt clears the air about Tua Tagovailoa

Watt also took to X and prayed for Tua. His post said, “Oh no Tua,” and it was greeted with a curious question by a fan: Why didn’t Tua slide? Well, it’s not like he sees the yellow line that we see on our television sets. So, it’s hard to make out where the first down is. The QB was desperate to make things happen, so he took the burden on himself.

“It’s very difficult to know exactly where the first down is when you’re in the middle of the field and scrambling. There is no yellow line on the field like on TV. It was 4th down. He was trying to make sure he secured that first down for his team. Very unfortunate outcome,” Watt wrote in his reply.

Since Tagovailoa is under the concussion protocol, his football related activities will be limited. Tua will have to go through a series of medical examinations like a cervical spine exam, an evaluation of speech, observation of gait, and an eye movement and pupillary exam, and other tests like his motor abilities, or signs of amnesia or confusion, per The Athletic. After the game, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa was in “good spirits,” but he did not comment on what is in store for the fifth-year veteran.

“Right now … it is more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time. The furthest thing from my mind is what is the timeline. We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate. … We’ll get more information tomorrow and then take it day by day from there,” McDaniel said. He also noted that the 2022 incident would not have any bearing on how Tagovailoa will be handled this time. Amid all, Third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson finished the game.

In 2022, Thompson started three games as a rookie, including a playoff loss on the road in Buffalo. McDaniel said he and the Dolphins have the “utmost confidence” in Thompson. But he did not specify if he would start in the Dolphins’ Week 3 game against the Seattle Seahawks. The coach also declined to share his thoughts about the football future of Tagovailoa.