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Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPN
MIAMI — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills after suffering a concussion.
Late in the third quarter, Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle for a first down and lowered his shoulder to initiate contact with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Tagovailoa’s helmet made hard contact with Hamlin’s body, and the quarterback immediately went into a fencing response with his arms in an unnatural position.
Dolphins medical trainers attended to him for several minutes as players knelt around him. He was ultimately able to walk off the field under his own power and into the team’s locker room.
Tagovailoa was quickly ruled out for the game. It is the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career.
Tagovailoa was the subject of widespread attention in 2022, when he hit the back of his head on the ground in a game against the Bills. He stumbled on his way back to the Dolphins’ huddle and briefly left the game before returning from what was described as a back injury.
The NFL and NFLPA opened a joint investigation into how Tagovailoa was handled, leading to the NFLPA exercising its right to fire the unaffiliated neurological consultant who cleared Tagovailoa to return to the game. The NFL also altered its concussion policy to include an ataxia clause — allowing a spotter to have players removed from the game if they show certain concussion symptoms.
Four days later, Tagovailoa hit the back of his head on the ground in similar fashion during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals and was briefly rendered unconscious. He was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. Afterward, coach Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins drew heavy criticism for allowing him to play.
Tagovailoa missed two games before returning to the field, but suffered another concussion during a Dec. 25 game against the Green Bay Packers. This time, the Dolphins shut him down for the remainder of the season.
Tagovailoa said he briefly considered retirement after the 2022 season after conversations with his family. During an interview with “The Dan Le Batard Show,” he clarified that his mother asked him to consider retiring. He decided against it and spent the offseason bulking up and training in jiu-jitsu in order to learn how to fall without hitting his head on the ground.
The training worked; he played all 17 regular-season games in 2023 and the Dolphins’ playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. This offseason, he signed a four-year, $212.1 million contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in franchise history.
Third-year quarterback Skylar Thompson entered the game in place of Tagovailoa, with Miami trailing 31-10.