Tua Tagovailoa has been fairly deep in the news since suffering yet another concussion last Thursday night as the Miami Dolphins were trounced by the high-flying Buffalo Bills.
Tua Tagovailoa Suffered Another Gruesome Head Injury
Many have gone back and forth regarding Tua’s future in the league, with even another NFL coach weighing in on the former National Champion’s difficult decision.
Whilst the Dolphins added Tyler Huntley earlier this week, they insisted this would not lead to Tagovailoa ending up on IR. And this, in theory, makes sense: the temporary IR requires players to be out for minimum 4 games, and concussions normally take 2-4 weeks to recover, depending on the severity of it.
Yet, as it turns out, the very next day, on Tuesday afternoon, Tua is heading to the injured reserve, per Ian Rapoport.
The #Dolphins are placing QB Tua Tagovailoa on Injured Reserve because of the concussion he suffered on Thursday night, per me and @MikeGarafolo.
This is in order to give him ample time to progress through the stages of concussion protocol and meet with outside neurologists. pic.twitter.com/GgUK8ME2dg
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 17, 2024
Tua Tagovailoa Heading To IR – An Ominous Sign For His Future In The NFL?
Sure enough, the Dolphins figured that for the man suffering his 3rd concussion in less than 2 years – 2 of which were just 4 (!!) days apart, would need some extended time to recover.
And it could well be just this, especially considering Miami did not go for the nuclear option with their choice of replacement quarterbacks, glossing over tenured starter and free-agent former Dolphin, Ryan Tannehill, in bringing in career backup, Tyler Huntley, to backup now incumbent starter, former 7th round pick, Skylar Thompson.
But it could also be something worse; putting the former Alabama man on IR prolongs his time on the sidelines to a minimum of 4 weeks, despite this normally being the maximum time taken off for a concussion injury. Could this be extended time to not only let the Dolphins’ franchise QB recover fully, but also well and truly think about and discuss his future with his family and other relevant parties?
The fact of whether he should retire is up to him and him alone, but the extended length of time taken to make this decision certainly indicates there may be some questions being asked as to the future of the quarterback who, just this summer, became the official figurehead of the Miami Dolphins organization.
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