Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.
The conversation regarding head injuries in the NFL reached a peak recently due to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Midway through the second quarter of the Miami Dolphins Week 4 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Tagovailoa was thrown to the ground by Bengals defensive lineman Josh Tupou. Tagovailoa was seen on the ground with his fingers twisted in an unnatural position, a sign that the Dolphins quarterback was clearly injured.
Following several minutes of the medical staff evaluating Tagovailoa on the field, he was put on a stretcher and sent to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further evaluation.
Prayers for Tua. He was just carted off the field 🙏
As a 3-0 team heading into the game, the loss of Tagovailoa was a massive blow to Miami, who lost the game 27-15 to the now 2-2 Cincinnati squad. But the life of Tagovailoa was much more important on Thursday night than the result of the game.
Many NFL fans watching the game were calling for the NFL to investigate the Dolphins following Tagovailoa’s injury. That’s because of an incident that happened in Miami’s Week 3 win against the Buffalo Bills in which Tagovailoa appeared to have suffered a head injury, yet was able to go back into the game soon after suffering the injury, which Tagovailoa claimed after the game was an injury to his back.
Twice now in the space of less than a week the same incident has happened to Tua, the Dolphins are gonna need to answer for lying about the status of his injury the first time, allowing him to still play in the Bills game and play in this Bengals game t.co/8eIejoZzAI
The injury against Buffalo happened just four days before Tagovailoa suffered the injury against the Bengals, which puts into question if Tagovailoa was healthy enough to play against Cincinnati and if the injury he sustained against the Bills was in fact to his back.
Due to all of this, the NFL and NFLPA are doing a joint investigation into Tagovailoa’s Week 3 concussion check and plan to wrap up the investigation “within the week,” according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on October 4.
#Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa is speaking today with reps from the NFL and NFLPA as part of the joint investigation into his Sept. 25 concussion check, I’m told.
The hope is to wrap up the investigation within the week. The NFL has said findings will be released publicly.
Alex Smith Fuels Concussion Convo With Personal Story
Former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith fueled the concussion saga as it rolled into Week 5 of the regular season by sharing a story of how he dodged concussion protocol during a game in the 2016 season. Smith shared the story on the “ESPN Daily” podcast.
It was the October 30, 2016 game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in which Smith twice hit his head on the turf and was evaluated for a concussion on both occasions. However, Smith detailed how he withheld symptoms he was experiencing both times he entered protocol so he could re-enter the game.
“I even remember our head trainer like laughing about it like, ‘The concussion that you didn’t have.’ Like everybody knew it, like it happened,” Smith said. “Obviously the entrance into the protocol was imperfect, and still is, but I kind of slipped out this side door.”
Smith admitted that he withheld some of his symptoms because he had lost his starting job with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 when he sat out due to a concussion and Colin Kaepernick became the starter. So, he wanted to re-enter the game vs. Indy to keep his starting role intact.
Andy Reid Forced Smith to Sit Out
Despite passing concussion protocol both times during the 2016 game against the Colts, head coach Andy Reid didn’t allow Smith to re-enter the game following the second time he passed protocol. Reis also forced Smith to sit out the team’s next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, Nick Foles finished the October 30 game under center and started against Jacksonville.
“I remember sitting down with Andy later that week and I didn’t have any symptoms,” Smith said. “I had done really well and Andy, I think was very frustrated at himself that he had stuck me in the game the week prior, and obviously made the wise decision that, given the fact that I still had passed all the stuff (tests), that he wasn’t going to let me play. And I’m thankful for him for that, along with our trainer and doctors that all made great decisions.
“Again, for me at a point when I was still symptom-free, passing tests and moving along and feel like, ‘Hey, let’s go.” And so I sat a week and thankfully … I’ve never had another incident the rest of my career. So, I’m sure if you look at my medical records, technically, I probably only had one official concussion in the eyes of the NFL.”
While Smith’s situation occurred several years ago, it is nevertheless another account of how easily an NFL player can dodge concussion protocol and re-enter a game.