MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa is gone from the Miami Dolphins‘ active roster. But he hasn’t really gone anywhere.
It’s been just a week since Tua suffered his third concussion in the last 24 months, but he’s already embraced the only role he can for the next five weeks: Unofficial coach.
Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa Is ‘Doing Amazing’
“He’s doing well,” Dolphins tackle Terron Armstead said Thursday. “Upbeat, man. He’s moving around, a lot of energy, helping out as much as he can. [Backup quarterback] Skylar [Thompson], everybody. You know what I mean? He’s engaged. [It’s] been a great presence to have him around.”
Added receiver Tyreek Hill: “He’s doing amazing, man.”
Armstead, Hill, and Tagovailoa are part of a star-studded Dolphins group text that also includes Jalen Ramsey and Raheem Mostert.
Those are the people whose opinions Tagovailoa values as he mulls what to do next — and not the dozens of other (mostly former) players who have weighed in over the past week.
Their first reaction was naturally of concern for their friend.
“The biggest thing that we want is to make sure that, you know, Tua is all right,” Hill said. “Once I called him, the day after or whatever, I heard his voice, heard he was in good spirits, I was cool, man.
“You know what I’m saying? Cause to me like, this s— bigger than football, man. Our life is bigger than football. Like, we are also like individuals with families, and you know, we got stuff going on. So once I heard that, cool, man.”
McDaniel said Tua "is very active within the building. I can guarantee you that he is fully committed to the day and his team and is involving himself in any way the rules allow and the process allows."
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) September 18, 2024
PFN asked Armstead if he has in the last week discussed the well-documented long-term health risk of repeated head injuries.
His response?
“Not necessarily. We talk. That’s my little brother. I love him to death outside of football. … So any way I can be a voice, voice my opinion, be a support, whatever, I’ll be there for him. He knows that.
“He makes those decisions for himself and his family. But whatever he wanna do, I’m gonna support him, and I’m gonna give him my opinion, my advice without any filter, because we had that type of relationship. I don’t need to filter anything. So I definitely tell him how I feel.”