Miami Dolphins back Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion at the end of a fourth-and-four in the third quarter of the Week 2 Thursday Night Football game against Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa had his head down trying to get a first down when he collided with the Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin in the red zone. The Dolphins quickly shut him down for the rest of the contest.
After crumpling on the field, Tagovailoa appeared to go into a “fencing response,” a similar display he showed after suffering a scary concussion during a 2022 “Thursday Night Football” game against Cincinnati Bengals.
Tagovailoa remained on the field as trainers evaluated him while his teammates knelt on the field. He soon got up and left the field under his own power with the trainers by his side. Dolphin backup Skylar Thompson replaced Tagovailoa under center as the Dolphins lost 31-10.
In July, Miami signed Tagovailoa to a a four-year, $212.4 million extension with $167 million guaranteed after his career season in 2023. Led the league with 4,624 yards passing with 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
There were legitimate concerns about the former No. 5 pick’s long-term health after the 2022 season as he missed four starts with a concussion. However, Tagovailoa made a concerted effort that offseason to avoid concussions. He gained weight, trained in martial arts and started wearing a new helmet. As a result, Tagovailoa started every game for Miami in 2023 for the first time in his career.
Unfortunately, this latest incident and the resulting response to fencing drags on a long-running story that hasn’t been addressed in over a year.
NFL concussion history
In Week 3 of the 2022 season, during a game in Miami against the Bills, Tagovailoa took a hit that caused him to be thrown backwards and hit his head on the field. The quarterback stood up and seemed dizzy, even falling to the ground again before his teammates helped him up. He left the game and apparently went through concussion protocol, and the Dolphins classified his injury as a back issue. The NFLPA even said afterward that it would investigate the situation.
Just four days later, the Dolphins traveled to Cincinnati for a game against the Bengals. In the second quarter, Tagovailoa was sacked and hit the back of his head hard on the playing surface. He went into a fencing response, where he eerily raised his arms as a neurological response to head trauma. Tagovailoa was taken off the field and transported by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. However, he was discharged from the hospital and flew home with the team.
dr. Rahul Shah, a board-certified orthopedic spine and neck surgeon, gave CBS Sports some insight into the response to fencing:
“So what happens is that when the head is hit, it’s essentially thrown back,” Dr. Shah said. “So when you have this type of scenario, this whole structure is basically affected and what’s going to happen is the person is going to be knocked out and they’re going to basically have this decorticative reaction. Basically, think of it as a short circuit that happens and it goes all the way down to the fingertips and that’s what it shows — it gives you a sense that the base of the neck or that area of the brain is still pretty fragile, especially after the fact that he had a previous injury.”
Tagovailoa would miss the next two games, but would return for the Week 7 matchup vs Pittsburgh Steelers. However, his problems with the concussion were not over. In the Christmas match against Green Bay PackersTagovailoa had a terrible second half in which he threw three interceptions. The next day, it was announced that he had entered the concussion protocol. Tagovailoa would miss the final two starts of the regular season and Miami’s Super Wild Card Weekend matchup against Buffalo.
Tagovailoa’s injury Thursday night marks what is officially his third concussion in his career NFL career. Quattroback even admitted that it was be considered a pension after being carted off the field in Cincinnati.
“Yeah, I think I thought about it for a while after I sat down with my family, after I sat down with my wife and had those conversations,” Tagovailoa said in April 2023. “But really, it would be hard for me to walk away from S considering how old I am, I’ve always dreamed of playing as long as possible for my son to watch exactly what he’s doing. I mean, it’s my health, it’s my body, it’s the best for me and my family.”
CBS Sports will update this developing story.