Tua Tagovailoa’s bad night took a turn for the worse as the Miami Dolphins quarterback exited his team’s 31-10 loss against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night in the third quarter with a concussion.
On a fourth-and-4 play from Buffalo’s 13-yard line, Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle as he attempted to get a first down. The Dolphins’ quarterback dove headfirst ahead of the first down marker but was hit by Bills safety Damar Hamlin. It appeared Tagovailoa hit his head on Hamlin’s body during the tackle.
Tagovailoa stayed on the grass for a few moments. He was eventually helped off the field and escorted to the locker room by the Dolphins’ medical staff. Backup quarterback Skylar Thompson replaced Tagovailoa with 4:24 left in the third quarter with Miami trailing 31-10.
“My thought was concern,’ Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told reporters postgame when asked for his thoughts when he saw Tagovailoa on the ground. ‘I was just worried about my guy. It’s not something that you ever want to be a part of. You hope not to.’
The Dolphins ruled Tagovailoa out with a concussion shortly after he exited.
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“It makes me sick,’ Thompson said postgame. ‘It sucks. In my position you never want to have your opportunity come with something like that. Have a lot of love for Tua. Built a great relationship with him and you care about the person more than the player.’
The Dolphins quarterback, who had 145 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions when he exited Thursday, has battled injuries throughout his career. In 2022, Tagovailoa experienced two known concussions and was limited to 13 games. He sustained a hip injury at Alabama in 2019 and missed the remainder of the collegiate season.
Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest on the field during a ‘Monday Night Football’ game in January 2023, wished Tagovailoa a ‘speedy recovery’ on social media.
Questions about Tagovailoa’s future were asked postgame — questions that will persist given the quarterback’s injury history. But McDaniel said the Dolphins’ chief concern at the moment is Tagovailoa’s health.
“You know, right now it’s more about getting a proper procedural evaluation (Friday), and taking it one day at a time,’ McDaniel said. ‘The furthest thing from my mind is, you know, what is the timeline? We just need to evaluate and just worried about my teammate like the rest of the guys are. We’ll get more information (Friday), and then take it day by day from there.’
Miami signed Tagovailoa to a four-year, $212.4 million contract extension in July. The Dolphins originally drafted Tagovailoa with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.