After suffering another scary concussion, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa‘s future in the NFL is in question. The 26-year-old quarterback received an outpouring of support after going down hard on Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, but his history of concussions has raised concern around the NFL.
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce weighed in on the issue during a news conference Friday. After a question about what he would tell Tagovailoa or a player in a similar situation, Pierce was blunt.
“I’ll be honest, I’d tell him to retire. It’s not worth it,” Pierce said.
Tagovailoa, who had two diagnosed concussions in the 2022 season, said last spring that he considered retiring as a result of the head injuries. Worries about the injuries faded last season and led Tagovailoa to sign a four-year, $212.4 million contract this summer to stay with the Dolphins.
Now, his health is a topic of conversation again in a sport where head injuries are a big concern.
“I’ve seen this happen to him three times,” Pierce continued on Friday. “[It’s] scary. You can see right away the players’ faces on the field, you can see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help.
“I’m just thinking at some point, you know, he’s gonna live longer than he’s gonna play football. Take care of your family,” Pierce concluded.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel refused to provide an injury timeline for Tagovailoa on Thursday night. He reiterated that point again during a news conference Friday, echoing some of Pierce’s sentiment — without the direct call to retire.
“I’m not assessing the injury through the lens of, ‘All right, so what does this mean for him playing,'” McDaniel said. “The best thing I can do is not try to assess what this even means from a football standpoint … I have to put his health as the primary.”
McDaniel said that it’s important to not add extra anxiety during the “delicate” time post-injury. “Questioning timelines, that gives forth anxiety — trying to meet them, trying to assess what this means for playing. This is heavy stuff that you have to be diligent and deliberate in coaching up, [saying] ‘Tua, hey, your job is to be a dad and to communicate daily,” McDaniel said. “That is the only thing that matters.”
On Friday, McDaniel said backup QB Skylar Thompson would take over for Tagovailoa, and that the Dolphins would likely sign another quarterback in the meantime — giving Tagovailoa time to heal before they make any major decisions.
