With just 4:24 remaining in the third quarter and the Miami Dolphins already trailing in a game against the Buffalo Bills, QB Tua Tagovailoa took a hard-hit concussion from Damar Hamlin. Immediately, it led to his exit from the game.
Advertisement
While Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and former Steelers icon, Antonio Brown have sympathized with the Dolphins QB, former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson have now questioned Tua’s decision-making during the play on their Nightcap podcast.
Sharpe didn’t hold back at all and pointed fingers at Tua about why he “didn’t slide” after securing the first down despite being aware of his concussion history:
“Knowing his history, I don’t know why. He had already had the first down—why didn’t he go down and slide? That’s my thing…The last thing you wanna do is get hit on it.”
Stressing more on how sliding can act like a brilliant strategy, Sharped added how for Tua, avoiding unnecessary hits should have come instinctively to protect himself from getting hit in vulnerable spots:
“I would turn up the shoulder, let you hit me on the shoulder, that’s good. But I’m not gonna let you hit me if I know, you know, I’ve had head trauma, like three or four blows. I’m not taking that; I’m gonna just slide. That’s what the protection is for, for the quarterback.”
Picking up where Sharpe left off, Chad Johnson chimed in with a similar opinion. He shared how quarterbacks are well-trained to slide correctly–among which head-first slides are pretty risky.
Johnson reiterated that Tua should have been more mindful of when to go down, particularly after he missed four games in 2022 and suffered at least two concussions.
Johnson elaborated that the Dolphins QB might not have realized that he had already gained the first down–which led to a delayed response and ultimately a dangerous hit from Hamlin.
Before he appeared on the live streaming with Chad, Shannon took to Twitter on a more personal note. Showing deep concern for both Tua’s current health status and his long-term future in the league, he suggested that the young QB hang up his cleats, given the number of concussions he’s suffered throughout his career:
“Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it down. I H8 [hate] saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him.”
Unfortunately, Sharpe might be right. Concussions, especially repeated ones can turn serious for the NFL players in their old age. A few common risks are Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), Post-Concussion Syndrome, increased risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease, and other mental health issues.
In the Dolphins versus Bills game, as Tua had an early exit with another concussion, the Dolphins trailing 31-10 became understandably secondary.
For the QB’s team, teammates, and fans, the primary concern was his health and his future in football.
Unfortunately, in spite of his stellar performance (145 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions) the question on everybody’s mind is–should Tua reconsider stepping away from the game for good for the sake of his health and future?
