Tua Tagovailoa is back on the practice field for the Miami Dolphins after suffering what many expected to be a career-ending head injury. His coaches and teammates asked one very simple request of their starting quarterback to protect him from another concussion.
They are asking Tagovailoa to stop trying to run through defenders and the 26-year-old seems to understand. It is the least he can do, for himself and for his team. But mostly for himself.
Tagovailoa returned from a concussion during Week 7 of the 2022 NFL season. One of his first plays back was a run from the Steelers’ 11-yard-line. Devin Bush stepped up to make the tackle but Miami’s signal-caller lowered his shoulder and ran him over to gain an extra yard or two.
Tagovailoa went over to Mike McDaniel after the drive to apologize for the big hit. He told his head coach he “needed that one.”
Now two years and two concussions later, McDaniel hopes his quarterback won’t do that again.
I think he has a better understanding of his responsibility towards the entire organization at this point. My answer would be, “You don’t need that one” this time around.
— Mike McDaniel
Tagovailoa practiced judo last offseason and learn how to fall. He also remained fully healthy by sliding instead of going head-on with defenders like he did with Bush.
McDaniel hopes that trend will continue. Believe it or not, Miami’s $212 million quarterback is more valuable when he is on the field instead of recovering from a hit he did not need to take.
He’s just in a different place as far as a leader of this team and feels tremendous responsibility to do everything in his power to be on the field, so part of that is protecting yourself.
I’ve got to make sure that he’s properly protected, but at the same time I can’t control everything and he has to be able to protect himself — regardless of the first-down conversion that he’s trying to get — for him to be on the field with his team that he needs to be smart about how he engages in contact.
— Mike McDaniel
Other players on the Dolphins are preaching a similar message.
We all joke around and laugh, but on a serious note, he knows that he has to protect himself better. Only he can control those things, and he understands that moving forward.
— Raheem Mostert
Tyreek Hill wants fans to cheer for Tagovailoa every time he goes down to the ground instead of challenging a defender in a one-on-one situation. Positive reinforcement will help drive the point home.
Damn right, I tell his a– all the time. When we were playing against the Colts, you see the fans start clapping for Anthony Richardson when he slid. I said our fans need to clap for Tua, make him slide. We need you, bro, next play.
— Tyreek Hill
Of course, not every hit can be avoided by sliding. Tua Tagovailoa is still going to get licked.
