Has Tua Tagovailoa gained weight? NFL insider explains Dolphins QB's plans to keep concussions at bay
Tua Tagovailoa's traumatic injury has been one of the clearest images lingering from the 2022 NFL season. With the next season on the horizon, the quarterback has taken steps to avoid a repeat.
According to Cameron Wolfe on Good Morning Football, the quarterback has jumped up on the scale and added a few other wrinkles to his game. Here's how Wolfe put it:
"It was a rough year for him last year towards the end with the injuries but he's come back a different player. He's added a lot of muscle. I'm told 8 to 10 pounds of muscle. He's training in jujitsu and also trying out a new helmet. But the reality is we won't know if he stays healthy until the end of the year."
Tua Tagovailoa's weight gain creates new worries
Of course, the increase in weight adds another set of questions facing the quarterback. The first is whether adding more weight to one's frame can help protect the head and the brain inside. Availability is king, but the side effects of being heavier cannot be ignored.
Troy Aikman had concussions in his #Cowboys career, so I asked about Tua Tagovailoa:
“It will be interesting to see how he's able to hold up and, if in fact he does have another head injury, what might that look like for him in terms of his future and what his career might be?” pic.twitter.com/r6Vq6gd40e
Adding weight, even if it is muscle, could slow down the quarterback. Another concern is just how easy it can be to have muscle turn to fat. If one gets accustomed to seeing a higher number on the scale, they might not notice that adding a cheeseburger or two is actually setting them back if they maintain the same weight.
The changes are so slight that they can go unnoticed until it's too late. The scale is the easiest defense against catching weight gain in its tracks, and living adjacent to the wrong side of the scale is a real concern.
Russell Wilson's weight gain warns Tua Tagovailoa to tread lightly
As it stands, Tagovailoa wouldn't be the first NFL player to gain weight with good intentions and come off worse for it. Eddie Lacy, Leonard Fournette, and Russell Wilson are some of the more topical or infamous examples of poor seasons following weight gain.
Russell Wilson is leaner but he wouldn’t reveal his current weight. He remains listed at 215 pounds. pic.twitter.com/BUID7vczu5
This offseason, the big upgrade for Wilson, aside from Sean Payton, was his weight loss. The change was so noticeable that he even acknowledged it in a press conference.
If any of the above quotes are used, please credit Good Morning Football and H/T Sportskeeda.