Tua Tagovailoa urged by Dolphins coach to be ‘quarterback of his family’ after latest concussion

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tua Tagovailoa will likely be sidelined for the team’s next game and perhaps longer, his coach said Friday, as the Dolphins QB was told to concentrate on being the “starting quarterback of his family.”

Tagovailoa was injured in a hard collision with Bills safety Damar Hamlin in the third quarter of Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to the visiting Buffalo Bills. 

The Dolphins’ next game is a week from Sunday as they travel northwest to play the Seattle Seahawks. The decision to play will be in the hands of Tagovailoa and his doctor, Miami coach Mike McDaniel said.

“I don’t see how he would play in the next game. I don’t see it,” McDaniel told reporters.

And further signaling that the Dolphins are prepared to go longer without Tagovailoa, McDaniel said the team is in the market to pick up another quarterback to back up Miami’s now-presumptive starter Skylar Thompson and practice squad QB Tim Boyle.

“The team and the organization are very confident in Skyler,” McDaniel said. “That being said, we will bring in (another quarterback).”

Tagovailoa, scrambling to convert on fourth down, passed the line to gain the first down before lowering his helmet and going hard into Hamlin’s torso. The QB hit the ground and appeared unable to get up as players on both teams immediately called for medical attention.

As Tagovailoa left the field, McDaniel appeared to whisper him a message.

“I told him he’s the starting quarterback of his family, to go to the locker room, take a deep breath and I’ll see you soon,” McDaniel said Friday.

The tackler, Hamlin, nearly died about 20 months ago when he went into cardiac arrest during a “Monday Night Football” game and had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati. 

Hamlin did not give up his career despite that near-death incident, and McDaniel said he was in no position to advise Tagovailoa on his next move.

“I think it would be so, so wrong of me to to even sniff that subject,” said McDaniel, fearing he’d add undue stress to Tagovailoa for making such an opinion known.

“If I would answer that question, I’d be like, ‘All right, this is my thoughts on his career’ and he read it, if he agreed with it or he disagreed with it, either way, I’ve just made it worse.”

The scary moment on “Thursday Night Football” drew the attention of Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce. And in light of previous head injuries suffered by Tagovailoa, the former New York Giants linebacker offered some unsolicited advice to the Miami QB.

“I’ll be honest, I’d tell him to retire. It’s not worth it,” Pierce told reporters on Friday. “It’s not worth it. Played the game, I haven’t witnessed anything like I’ve seen that’s happened to him three times. Scary. You can see right away (on Thursday night), the players’ faces on the field. You can see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help.”

Pierce shared McDaniel’s family-first message to the 26-year-old Tagovailoa.

“I just think that at some point, he’s going to live longer than he’s going to play football,” the Las Vegas coach said. “Take care of your family.”

Tagovailoa missed several games of the 2022 season, suffering two scary concussions that year.

He enjoyed a banner 2023 season, throwing for a league-high 4,623 yards. The Dolphins rewarded Tagovailoa in July with a four-year, $212.4 million contract, with $167 million guaranteed.

Jesse Kirsch reported from Miami Gardens, Florida, and David K. Li from New York City.