On Thursday night, a scary incident happened with Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
In the second quarter of the Dolphins’ 27-15 loss to the Bengals, Tagovailoa was sacked by Bengals’ Josh Tupou and was on the ground for a few minutes before he was taken off on a stretcher and sent to a local hospital with head and neck injuries.
Ultimately, Tagovailoa was released from the hospital and flew back with the team to Miami.
Tua, who left the game against the Bills last Sunday and returned with what was initially reported as a head injury, which the Dolphins later said was a back injury, was listed as questionable for Thursday’s game due to the back injury.
On Friday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson and Giants head coach Brian Daboll gave their thoughts on the situation.
Doug Pederson:
“First of all, just want to [give] my thoughts and prayers obviously to [Dolphins QB] Tua [Tagovailoa] and his family at this time,” Pederson said. “What I saw on television last night, it was obviously a violent head injury, severe, and to the ground. Listen, those things are going to happen in this league, and it’s no fault of anybody’s, but we have to keep player safety first number one. I know the league is doing an outstanding job with [it]. You look at the guardian caps that we wore in training camp this year, and they’re doing everything they can with technology and helmets and things of that nature. But these instances are going to keep popping up; it’s inevitable with our game and the speed of the game, and the violent nature of our game. We try to minimize them, and we try to protect our players best we can, but sometimes in the course of the heat of the battle, they happen. It’s unfortunate, and again, my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and, of course, the Dolphins at this time.”
Daboll, Tagovailoa’s offensive coordinator at Alabama, says he will reach out to him soon.
“He means a lot to me,” Daboll said. “Special kid, great family, and it was tough…
“Yeah, I think every decision is different. I don’t really think about them as players. I know I’m a coach, but I try to think about them; they’re not too far off from my kids. Anytime a guy gets hurt, I saw it and just prayers for him, his family, and the people around him.”
It was an unfortunate situation, and hopefully, Tagovailoa’s career won’t be impacted going forward.
