Chris Long, who closed out a stellar NFL career as a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles , was desensitized to ugly injuries during his 11-year pro career. Now an analyst and podcaster on the Green Light with Chris Long show, among other ventures, injuries like the one sustained by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa are impossible to shake off.
Tagovailoa was diagnosed with a concussion for the third time in his NFL career , leaving his team’s loss to the Buffalo Bills Thursday night after crashing hard into defensive back Damar Hamlin’s chest and hitting the back of his head against the turf:
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the locker room, where the TNF broadcast reported it took medical personnel only six minutes to rule him out for the game with concussion symptoms.
The scary scene sparked immediate reaction from former NFL players on social media, with many urging Tagovailoa to retire . Long stopped short of that, but did express concern for the person — not the football player — in a candid post on YouTube Thursday night .
As soon as he took off, I just had a bad feeling. And when he went down on the turf tonight and did (the fencing posture) again, it was like, ‘Oh no.’ I mean, like, I'm not that guy anymore. It shook me up. I think it shakes everybody up watching. I just hope he’s OK, man…
Whatever you think of him as a football player, he’s overcome a lot. I think he’s mentally pretty tough, you know, to hang in there, and take the field and come back from those concussions and deal with criticism. Because he gets a lot of it, and some of it can be warranted, the play on the field. But I couldn’t imagine shouldering that burden of being a QB in the NFL. He’s battled. I’ll give him that. And I hate seeing what I saw tonight. I don’t want to see it again… and this has nothing to do with my critiques of the player. My hope would be that maybe my eyes deceive me and the doctors tell him that he’s OK, like he takes his time, steps away for a little bit… but come on. Would you be OK if you heard that he’s out a couple weeks or…? I wouldn't want to watch, because I don’t want to see that, and I don’t want to see whatever happens next.
— Chris Long Breakdowns
During a Friday morning Zoom conference with reporters, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel pleaded with people to stop discussing whether Tagovailoa should retire: "I totally get that's where people want to go,” the coach said. “I just wish, for a second, people would hear what I'm saying — that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him.”
In all likelihood, Tagovailoa will be medically cleared to return to play at some point this season, possibly even sooner than expected. It will be up to Tagovailoa and the Dolphins — who just signed the star 26-year-old to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension this offseason — to make a decision on next steps.
What will it take to get Tagovailoa back on the field? Long wants no part of that discussion.
"I just want him to be OK," he said. "And the guy just got paid. Thank God he got paid, you know? And no one should apologize for getting paid. … I want him to get every dollar, and err on the side of caution, you know what I mean? … I just hope that a guy like him doesn’t feel like he has to go back."
MORE EAGLES NEWS:
Do the Philadelphia Eagles have a Cooper DeJean problem?
Eagles Devin White surprised about being benched for Nakobe Dean
Jason Kelce drops surprising take on new Eagles center Cam Jurgens
Philadelphia radio host proposes solution to Haason Reddick drama
This Kirk Cousins stat from Week 1 should have Eagles pass rushers salivating
Local News
Comments / 0