'Bills Mafia', football community showing support for Tua Tagovailoa

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The generosity of "Bills Mafia" continues to shine bright.

In the hours since Thursday night's contest between the Buffalo Bills and Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida, fans have been donating to the Tua Foundation in support of Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who left the game early due to a concussion.

According to a spokesperson with the Tua Foundation early Friday morning, they received over 900 donations online, and that number continues to grow into the afternoon.

With about four-and-a-half minutes left to go in the third quarter and the Dolphins trailing 31-10, Tagovailoa and the offense was hoping to find the end zone and stay within striking distance of the Bills.

Facing a 4th-and-4 at the Bills' 13-yard line, Tagovailoa was able to escape the pocket and find a hole through the offensive line to gain the yards needed for a first down.

However, instead of sliding feet-first to the turf, Tagovailoa ended up going head-first into Bills safety Damar Hamlin, and then hitting his head again on the turf. Players on the field immediately called for the Dolphins' medical staff to tend to Tagovailoa, who remained down on the turf at Hard Rock Stadium for a few minutes.

Tagovailoa was eventually able to walk off the field and back to the Dolphins locker room with team medical personnel, where he was diagnosed with a concussion shortly thereafter.

Since entering the NFL in 2020, Tagovailoa has had a concerning history of concussions, especially during his 2022 season in Miami with two documented concussions. There is concern he also suffered a third concussion during a matchup with the Bills in Week 3 of the season, which would've been his first that year, but that was officially diagnosed as a neck injury.

The very next game, just four days later on "Thursday Night Football" against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tagovailoa was knocked out of the game with his first official concussion after being thrown to the turf and violently hitting his head. He was stretchered off the field that evening and taken to a local hospital via ambulance.

Tagovailoa later suffered another concussion in 2022 in a Christmas Day game against the Green Bay Packers, where he hit the back of his head on the field of Hard Rock Stadium.

The Tua Foundation says it is incredibly grateful for those who have expressed support for Tagovailoa and the foundation since Thursday night.