Concussion-inducing hits to Tua and Teddy Bridgewater make one question the Miami Dolphins' approach to QB safety
Concussions have left the Miami Dolphins with their third-string quarterback as their only healthy option. However, you struggle to sympathize with a team that doesn't care about the safety of its players.
Tua Tagovailoa's concussion and the Dolphins' response to it has become the single most controversial talking point of the 2022 NFL season thus far.
The Dolphins continue to suggest that the quarterback didn't suffer a head injury against the Buffalo Bills, even though he lost steadiness, appeared dizzy, and collapsed on the field.
What makes this defense even more problematic is that the NFLPA has fired the independent head trauma assessor in charge of the Bills-Dolphins game because he made a mistake with his evaluation of Tagovailoa.
Teddy Bridgewater's concussion on Sunday was another blow. Despite passing the concussion protocol test, he had displayed signs of ataxia, which meant he had to be pulled from the game.
However, after his withdrawal, Mike McDaniel called a trick play that saw his only healthy quarterback utilized as a blocker on the run, which was senselessly careless.
Miami Dolphins should be investigated over their approach to QB health
It's sometimes difficult to be critical of a sports franchise doing whatever it takes to win when the media paints winning as the most important thing in the sport.
If Mike McDaniel loses games early in his Miami Dolphins premiership, the media will be on him. The headlines focus on this Wunderkind being a bust, so to a point, it's difficult to blame him for wanting to keep his best players on the field.
What is unforgivable, however, is keeping a player in the game despite knowing they have suffered head trauma.
It was clear to anyone watching that Tua Tagovailoa was displaying concussive symptoms against the Buffalo Bills. No back injury causes a player to lose steadiness and collapse.
A lock-up or twinge in a back muscle can cause someone to fall, but the body naturally looks to protect itself and restrict movement. The person then goes down softly and in stages.
What Tagovailoa displayed wasn't a careful landing. This was an example of a human being who didn't have all his cognitive faculties.
He was off-balance, not in control of his limbs, and displayed signs of trying to 'clear the cobwebs' by wiping at his head before staggering to the floor. These are all clear signs of ataxia, yet the Miami Dolphins ignored them.
Not being forced to remove your quarterback from a game by the rules is one thing, but to keep a human being in that situation, a person you interact with daily is just shocking. The Dolphins need to be investigated for how they assessed Tagovailoa after the Bills game.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa is out with a #concussion.
Backup QB Teddy Bridgewater is now out & in the concussion protocol.
So Mike McDaniel runs a reverse with his only healthy QB as a lead blocker? Sorry, this guy still doesn't get it.🤔 https://t.co/d8tt05TXEx
Tua Tagovailoa was put at risk by the Miami Dolphins
If putting the quarterback back into the Bills game was bad enough, what followed mere days later was disgraceful.
Tagovailoa started against the Cincinnati Bengals in the following Thursday Night Football and suffered a second concussion, one so serious that it brought a fencing response from the player. He was carted motionless off the field.
Concussion experts have long been clear that not allowing a person to recover and potentially chaining concussions is one of the most dangerous things an athlete can do.
If Tagovailoa had, as many suspect, suffered head trauma on Sunday, he indeed suffered a second one just four days later.
The Dolphins put him in a position for that to happen. Thus, his long-term health, not just as an NFL player but as a human being, was put at risk by the franchise.
Would the Dolphins have put Teddy Bridgewater back in?
The newly introduced NFL-NFLPA protocols came into force at the start of Week 5. These changes ensured Teddy Bridgewater wasn't placed back into the Miami Dolphins' defeat to the New York Jets.
If we were to look at the Tagovailoa situation, this was eerily similar. The Dolphins allowed him to go back into the game, so there is no reason to think they wouldn't have done the same with Bridgewater.
This could have put him in further danger of taking another hit to the head in the same game.
Many other NFL teams would have behaved similarly, but the Miami Dolphins have been seen acting carelessly.
Concussions and their related impact need to be taken more seriously by teams. The long-term health of athletes needs to be placed higher than wins.
Teddy Bridgewater will not be able to play against the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday, so there will be a clamor to rush Tagovailoa back.
McDaniel said Bridgewater has no concussion symptoms but a spotter saw him stumble so he immediately enters concussion protocol and ruled out because of yesterday's rule change. Unfortunate coincidence that this happens to Dolphins. Well intentioned rule opens up can of worms.
The Miami Dolphins must start showing they care about the players. Tagovailoa has to be given adequate time to rest and recover and can't be rushed back.
If he starts on Sunday, then the message from the Miami Dolphins will be clear: they don't care about their players.