Manti Te’o fought back tears Friday when discussing Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion he sustained Thursday night against the Bills.
“After he suffered the one against the Bengals (in 2022) I wanted him to walk. When I saw him have to be carted off the field, I wanted him to walk. That was … that was hard,” Te’o said emotionally.
“What people have to understand is this is just a game. And then there’s life. And when you watch a young man you’ve known since he was a little boy go out there … is it hard for me? Yeah. But I can’t imagine how it is for Uncle Galu and Auntie Danie to watch their son, again, go down.”
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Damar Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
“To see my brother Tua go down like that, it really just makes me — I want the best for Tua, the man, the father, he’s a father of two now,” Te’o said. “I want him to be able — not today, but 10, 15, 20 years down the line to be able to raise his children, to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle, that’s what I want for Tua. That’s true joy.”
He was diagnosed with two concussions in 2022, as well as one when he played at Alabama.
There have been many other issues, including some in college that were serious. At Alabama, he had a procedure for a high ankle sprain in October 2019, which caused him to miss one game. A month later, Tagovailoa dislocated his right hip against Mississippi State, which prematurely ended his college career.
In his pro career, Tagovailoa has dealt with rib fractures, a thumb injury and a fractured middle finger on his throwing hand, along with the concussions.
