MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa insisted post-game Sunday that he is dealing with a back injury — despite hitting his head on the ground, then nearly falling over from a lack of balance and then going into the locker room for what the team at the time called a head injury.
Tagovailoa staggered and then went to the ground after taking a late hit from Matt Milano in the first half of Sunday’s 21-19 win over the Buffalo Bills. He went directly to the locker room for further evaluation. The team’s medical staff ultimately determined he did not suffer a concussion and cleared him to return to the game.
But the NFLPA wants a more detailed explanation of what went down, so the union has exercised its right to open an investigation into whether the Dolphins followed all of the league’s concussion mandates before returning Tagovailoa to the game. The league told Pro Football Talk that “the concussion protocol was followed.”
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Tagovailoa met with reporters following the game and explained what happened during the unusual sequence of events:
“On the quarterback sneak, I kind of got my legs caught under someone and they were trying to push back,” Tagovailoa said. “It felt like I hyperextended my back or something. And then on the next play, I hit my back, and it kind of hurt. Then I got up and that’s why I stumbled. My back kind of locked up on me. For the most part, I’m good. I passed whatever concussion protocol they had.”
Tagovailoa added: “Right now, it’s tight. It was sore when it did happen. But yeah, any competitor that would never want to come out would have done the same thing. I was trying my hardest to get back up and get the next play in.”
When asked what the next step will be with the back injury, Tua replied: “We’ll have to see. I don’t want to say that I’m a genie and I’m going to feel good tomorrow. We’ll see. We’ll go get some tests and we’ll come back tomorrow.”
Tagovailoa in the second half completed 5 of his 8 passing attempts for 110 yards — including a 45-yard bomb to Jaylen Waddle on 3rd-and-22 that set up the team’s final touchdown.
“I think that’s a big play that I think Tua will always remember, that a lot of his teammates will because he was battling through and that’s really hard,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “Especially with how he throws, he uses such great base and balance that he uses his whole core to throw. And he had to be on time and on rhythm. He saw the coverage the right way.
“He attempted to move the field safety as best he could, but I think it goes to show how important it is to him, how gutsy he is, how tough he is. He can sense when big moments are on the line, and just very happy that him and Waddle came up with the play to get us into scoring position that Chase [Edmonds] ultimately ended [up] getting the score on. That was a big one that I think we’ll all remember for sure.”