The Miami Dolphins quarterback suffered a third serious head injury of his career in the loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, and was immediately ruled out of the game.
He is expected to be sidelined for the foreseeable future, and now a source close to the team has revealed that he could even have played the final game of his career.
‘It is looking like the Dolphins may shut Tua down for the entire season to give him time to consider retiring from the NFL,’ the source told DailyMail.com.
‘The healing and the emotions are at a high right now and no immediate decisions are going to be made but after this latest concussion the likelihood that the NFL and the Miami Dolphins are going to recommend highly for him to retire is almost definite.’
Tagovailoa himself, meanwhile, is strongly against the recommendation of hanging up his cleats and is desperate to prolong his career despite the latest injury.
‘Tua is adamant he would like to continue playing,’ the source continues. ‘Once he gets better, he wants to be on the field.
‘It is going to be a long road for people to convince him to retire, he doesn’t want to retire at all.’
Tagovailoa was floored by a brutal hit to the head from the Bills’ Damar Hamlin on Thursday night, and immediately went into the fencing response as other players desperately called for medical attention.
He left the field under his own steam but was clearly shaken up, and it took less than six minutes for his concussion to be diagnosed by medics.
Tagovailoa has now suffered three known concussions in the NFL, after his 2022 season was cut short by head injuries.
In Week 3 of that year, he was rocked by a huge tackle and went into the fencing response, but later returned to the game.
In Week 4, he exhibited concussion symptoms again after another brutal hit and was stretchered from the field.
Later in the season, in Week 16, he suffered yet another concussion, which ended his season, and sparked a change to the NFL’s concussion protocol.
Tagovailoa didn’t miss a game in the 2023 season after bulking up over the summer, but he reported for the most recent preseason with a significantly slimmed-down frame.
Speaking after the game, his head coach Mike McDaniel took a different stance to many on the future of his star quarterback.
‘I think it would be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject,’ the 41-year-old said when pressed on the question of Tagovailoa walking away from the game.
‘It’s more in line of actually caring about the human being. You’re talking about his career. His career is his.
‘I totally get that’s where people want to go. I just wish, for a second, people would hear what I’m saying—that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him.
‘I’m going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care that should be the last thing on your mind.
‘If I were to answer that question and he read it, whether he agreed or disagreed, it would make him worse.
‘I don’t think it’s appropriate because of my care and regard . I don’t think those types of conversations when you’re talking about someone’s career… I think it’s only fair that their career should be decided by them.’