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Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not advised to retire by multiple neurologists after suffering his third concussion since 2022, according to ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.
“A team source told ESPN that none of the neurologists Tagovailoa consulted recommended retirement, nor did they express concern he was at greater risk of additional injury after giving his brain time to heal,” Louis-Jacques wrote on Friday. “Tagovailoa said Monday that he never considered retirement this time around.”
The signal-caller missed four games due to a concussion in Week 2, but he’s set to start in the Dolphins’ clash with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday after clearing protocol.
Tagovailoa was previously diagnosed with concussions on two separate occasions during his 2022 campaign, including one in Week 16 that caused him to miss the remainder of Miami’s season.
Louis-Jacques noted that the Dolphins didn’t “explicitly” shut him down for the rest of the year at the time, but they never discussed a return timeline with the 26-year-old in order to keep his focus on resting instead of a quick progression through protocol.
Tagovailoa told reporters on Monday that he’d been absent of any concussion symptoms since Sept. 13, but Miami still placed him on injured reserve to allow his brain to heal.
“What I do know is that I think the team did what was best in the interest of me,” Tagovailoa said, per Louis-Jacques. “Knowing that I’m a competitor, and given what the doctors have told me that having a substantial amount of time to rest and recover would have been good for me, I think they did what was best in terms of protecting myself from myself.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport provided insight into the quarterback’s five-step return to action.
Tagovailoa’s presence should help a Dolphins offense that has struggled mightily in his absence, averaging just 10 points per game to go along with a 1-3 record in the four contests that he missed.
He should be able to excel against a Cardinals secondary that has allowed 236.9 passing yards each week this season, the seventh-worst mark in the NFL.
As the Pro Bowl quarterback nears his return to the field, it doesn’t appear that retirement was a serious option as he progressed through concussion protocol.
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