Dolphins ‘DID follow concussion protocol with QB Tua Tagovailoa’s head injury’, review finds

The NFL’s concussion protocol was followed after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered an injury against the Buffalo Bills last month, the NFL and NFL Players Association concluded in a joint investigation.

The parties released a joint statement on their findings Saturday.

‘The outcome in this case was not what was intended when the Protocol was drafted,’ the statement said.

As a result, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to modify the league’s concussion protocol to include the term ‘ataxia.’ In the statement, they defined ataxia as ‘abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue.’

Ataxia replaced the term ‘gross motor instability’ and has been added to the list of symptoms that would prohibit a player from returning to the game. The others are confusion, amnesia and loss of consciousness.

In the first half of the September 25 game against Buffalo, Tagovailoa took a hit from Bills linebacker Matt Milano, which caused him to slam to the ground. He appeared disoriented afterward and stumbled as he tried to get to his feet.

Tagovailoa was immediately taken to the locker room and taken through the NFL’s concussion protocol, after which he was cleared of any head injury. He started the third quarter, drawing criticism from viewers about why he was allowed to return to the game.

After the September 25 game, Tagovailoa and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel (pictured) said the quarterback had suffered a back injury earlier in the game on a quarterback sneak. The review said Tagovailoa told the medical staff that he aggravated his back injury on the play in question and that his back injury caused him to stumble. It also said the medical staff determined that the gross motor instability was not due to a concussion

The NFLPA later announced that it was launching an investigation into the situation.

‘The Protocol exists to establish a high standard of concussion care for each player,’ the league and union’s statement said, ‘whereby every medical professional engages in a meaningful and rigorous examination of the player-patent. To that end, the parties remain committed to continuing to evaluate our Protocol to ensure it reflects the intended conservative approach to evaluating player-patients for potential head injuries.’

On October 1, the union fired the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant who handled Tagovailoa’s situation during the game.

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president overseeing health and safety, said in a virtual news conference Saturday that he believes this is the first time a UNC has been fired, and that the NFL did not support the decision to fire him.

The NFL and NFLPA said they reviewed video and jointly interviewed members of the Dolphins’ medical staff, the head athletic trainer, the Booth ATC Spotter, the UNC and Tagovailoa.

Tagovailoa was cleared to return Sunday, despite stumbling to the ground and continuing to struggle even after getting back on his feet. Teammates needed to help keep the 24-year-old Hawaiian upright before he was removed from the game moments before halftime

Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is reportedly in ‘good spirits’ back in Florida after being released from a Cincinnati hospital on Thursday night following the concussion he suffered in the Dolphins’ loss to the Bengals

They found that Tagovailoa did not show any signs or symptoms of a concussion during his locker room exam, during the rest of the game, or throughout the following week. But immediately after he took the hit from Milano, gross motor instability was present.

After the game, Tagovailoa and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said the quarterback had suffered a back injury earlier in the game on a quarterback sneak.

The review said Tagovailoa told the medical staff that he aggravated his back injury on the play in question and that his back injury caused him to stumble. It also said the medical staff determined that the gross motor instability was not due to a concussion.

Initial testing has not revealed any structural damage, a source told ESPN, but he has been diagnosed with a concussion. The good news is that he never lost feeling in his extremities.

‘Talking to him tis morning he’s still feeling some of those headaches, he’s finishing his MRI right now and we’ll find the results on that – it’s an extra precaution on top of CT scans and X-rays,’ McDaniel said October 1. 

Members of the Miami Dolphins surround quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) as he is carted off the field after a hit in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals

McDaniel refused to put a timetable on Tagovailoa’s return. 

‘What gets lost in all this is human relationships,’ McDaniel said. ‘These aren’t just players, they are people we mutually invest in, someone I have grown very, very close to. When it comes to head injuries and concussions, things that serve, the only thing I am worried about is the person. I am worried about him getting healthy,  getting all the testing done and us working with him and feeling good where the injury is. We’ll cross the bridge for however long but haven’t thought about that yet.’

McDaniel’s comments came as he and team doctors faced criticism over Tagovailoa’s inclusion the Thursday Night Football game in Cincinnati. 

McDaniel was asked if Tagovailoa would return this year, but the Dolphins Coach once again backed off offering any timetable: ‘That’s where I would feel irresponsible – even thinking about it.’