Manti Te’o fought back tears, his voice cracking.
Watching his childhood friend and “brother” Tua Tagovailoa suffer his third diagnosed concussion Thursday night against the Bills shook the former Notre Dame star and had him searching for the right words Friday morning on “Good Morning Football.”
“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.”
Te’o, 33, and Tagovailoa, 26, both hail from Hawaii and they clearly have a strong connection, although Te’o did not explicitly say if they are officially related.
The former Chargers and Saints linebacker is concerned for his friend’s well-being, especially now that he he has sustained his third concussion in three years.
Tagovailoa first suffered a concussion on Sept. 29, 2022, against the Bengals, which Te’o referenced. He then sustained another on Dec. 25, 2022, which ended his season prematurely.
His third happened late in the third quarter of Thursday’s 31-10 loss when he scrambled for a first down but took a hit instead of sliding.
Tagovailoa laid in the fencing position after being hit, which has some medical experts concerned about the severity of the hit.
There are already calls for him to retire, and his teammates are crushed.
“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.”
Te’o acknowledged that like most individuals watching, he wished Tagovailoa had slid on the play.
Tua Tagovailoa concussion fallout
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- Why fencing position has medical experts concerned
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By not doing so, Tagovailoa collided with Damar Hamlin and his head hit the ground during the tackle.
The Dolphins quickly ruled him out after he exited the field.
“Just knowing the competitor in him, he wants to win and he has a whole new helmet to protect him, he lost weight just to protect himself and to see him go down that, I don’t mean to get emotional on the show, but it was big for a family member to watch him go through that again and I’m just so grateful that the NFL community has rallied around Tua,” Te’o said of Tagovailoa not sliding.
While some have mentioned that it may be a positive sign that Tagovailoa walked off the field so quickly, Te’o noted that isn’t necessarily the case.
“For somebody that’s been in that situation and have had a concussion, I don’t even know if Tua’s there as he’s walking off the field. There has been clips of me after concussions getting off the ground and walking off the stadium, walking into the locker room. I don’t remember those walks,” Te’o said. “It’s like I wake up — I remember when it was a playoff game against the Broncos, I got knocked out the second quarter of that game. I got up, the camera footage shows me walking to the locker room, Kyle (Brandt), I didn’t wake up, I didn’t come to until the fourth quarter, there was two minutes left in the fourth quarter, and I was sitting the in the locker room trying to figure out, ‘Why am I in Denver?’”
Tagovailoa is scheduled to undergo further testing Friday, which could reveal the timeline for his recovery.
The former Alabama star said he previously considered retiring after the 2022 concussions, which potentially could be on the table again.
Te’o hopes Tagovailoa can do what’s best for him.
“I just hope for my little brother that he sees and he understands, knowing his makeup, he understands what’s important in life and I just hope that he makes the right decision,” Te’o said. “I’m not going to make the decision for you. I’m not saying to step away from the game. As a brother, I just want the best for you and whatever that looks like for Tua and the Tagoviloa family, that’s what I want for him.”
