Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went down in the third quarter, and it was ugly. It's something no football fan enjoys seeing.
Tagovailoa scrambled to pick up a first down and put his head down, and was met by Bills safety Damar Hamlin . The hit, by the way, was completely legal, and no flag was thrown. When Tagovailoa hit the ground, His legs and arms went stiff in a graphic and horrifying fashion.
Starting in Week 3 of 2022, Tagovailoa went through multiple concussion situations throughout the year that prompted the league to change its concussion protocol.
There was plenty of discussion after that season about whether or not Tagovailoa would even play football again.
"Yeah, I think I considered it for a time," Tagovailoa told the media in April of 2023. "Having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kind of conversations, but, really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am, with my son -- I always dreamed of playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do. It's my health, it's my body, and I feel like this is what's best for me and my family. I love the game of football. If I didn't, I would've quit a long time ago."
After the game, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott offered his thoughts on the injury.
"I saw the Tua situation and it didn't look good, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, and we want the best for him," McDermott said.
Bills QB Josh Allen also offered his thoughts.
"Unfortunately, yeah, very sad. That's the worst part of the game. You know, nothing but love and prayers going to him and his family, and hopefully everyone's sending those because he's going to need them," Allen said.
Speaking with the media, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was asked about Tagovailoa's health and his status going forward.
"Yeah, my thought was concern, and I was just worried about my guy," McDaniel said when asked what his reaction was to seeing Tagovailoa in the fencing position. "It's not something that you ever want to be a part of. You know, you hope not to."
"It's more about getting a proper procedural evaluation tomorrow and taking it one day at a time, at the the furthest thing from my mind is "What's the timeline?" We just need to evaluate and and I'm just worried about my my teammate, like the rest of the guys are, but we'll get more information tomorrow, and then take it day by day from there," McDaniel continued.
McDaniel was also asked the looming question about how this might impact Tagovailoa's ability to return to the football field.
"I don't approach things that I'm far inferior of expertise in. For me to go ahead and forecast things that I don't know in my non-field of expertise, I don't think that's appropriate. I think we'll find out some more information tomorrow in terms of where Tua is at, he'll be able to spend a good amount of time being evaluated, and we'll have conversations and progress as appropriate," McDaniel said. "He went around the locker room and and connected with guys trying, as a leader, just trying to keep the guys heads up, and he'll be in the office tomorrow to have the appropriate care."
It's a scary situation that's much bigger than football. We'll wait for more information about Tagovailoa's health and potential moves made by the Dolphins organization in the coming days.
Related: Bills Mafia rallies to support Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa's charity after scary concussion on Thursday Night Football
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp .
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