NFL, players association determine no concussion protocols were violated in latest Tua Tagovailoa injury

An investigation by the NFL and NFLPA determined that Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa did not show concussion symptoms during last Sunday’s game.

Tagovailoa was able to finish the Christmas Day game against the Packers. On Monday, he was placed in concussion protocol after reporting symptoms to the team. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel later confirmed that the quarterback was in the protocol for the second time this season.

The league and players association’s joint review concluded that there were no violations of the concussion protocol during the game.

The NFL and NFLPA previously performed a joint review of the Dolphins’ handling of a Tagovailoa concussion. The first came after a Week 4 game against the Bengals, when Tagovailoa was knocked unconscious after a sack by the Cincinnati Bengals. He was carted off the field and was later briefly hospitalized.

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“Yeah, I remember the entire night up until the point I got tackled,” he said about that hit against the Bengals via Yahoo Sports. “After I got tackled, I don’t remember much from there. Getting carted off, I don’t remember that. But I do remember things that were going on when I was in the ambulance and when I arrived at the hospital.”

That investigation found that the team had followed protocol, but it also determined that the protocol itself needed to be amended. The unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in Tagovailoa’s evaluation earlier in the season was also terminated by the players association.

Tagovailoa would miss the next two games against the Jets and the Vikings after he suffered the head injury in Cincinnati. He returned to the field against the Steelers on Oct. 23.

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In a joint statement released on Saturday, the NFL and NFLPA said, “The protocol is initiated when a player receives an impact to the head and exhibits or reports signs or symptoms suggestive of a concussion. The review established that symptoms of a concussion were neither exhibited nor reported until the following day at which time the team medical personnel appropriately evaluated and placed Mr. Tagovailoa in the concussion protocol.”

During the second quarter of the Dolphins’ loss to the Green Bay Packers, Tagovailoa’s head hit the turf after he was tackled from behind. He did remain in the game, but he proceeded to throw three interceptions on three consecutive drives.

The Dolphins have already ruled Tagovailoa out for Sunday’s game against New England.