Bengals’ Joe Burrow talks concussions, cites times when he does not remember entire games

Tua Tagovailoa’s scary head injury in Miami’s Thursday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals has led to increased conversations around the handling of concussions by the NFL. 

Tagovailoa was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a concussion after being slammed to the ground by the Bengals’ Josh Tupou in Cincinnati. The head injury came just four days after Tagovailoa stumbled after hitting his head on a hit in Miami’s game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. He was taken into the locker room and later returned to the game against the Bills after passing a concussion evaluation. 

The quarterback on the other side of the field during Thursday night’s game – Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow – says that while concussions are always scary, playing the game of football comes with an inherent risk. 

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“It’s scary. Everybody knows the profession that we do – it’s a dangerous game – that’s always a possibility. But then when it happens, you kind of collectively hold your breath,” Burrow said on “The Colin Cowherd Podcast.”

Burrow told Cowherd that while he has never had any “long-lasting” effects from a concussion, there are games in which he does not remember the entirety.  

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“Yeah. For sure,” Burrow said when asked if he’s ever had a concussion. “I think everybody has that plays this game.” 

“I’ve never had any lasting effects from a concussion. I’ve been hit and forgot the rest of the game before. That’s happened a couple of times. But I’ve never had one where I have headaches for like a week and I have symptoms of concussion after the game. Like I said, I’ve had some where I don’t remember the second half or I don’t remember the entire game or I know that I got a little dizzy at one point. But nothing long-lasting.” 

The Dolphins have ruled Tagovailoa out for the Week 5 game against the New York Jets and have not provided a “definitive timeline” for his return. 

“You can make all the rules you want to make the game as safe as you possibly can, but there’s an inherent risk and danger with the game of football,” Burrow said on the podcast.  

“You’re going to have head injuries,” he continued. “You’re going to tear your ACL. You’re going to break your arm. That’s the game that we play. That’s the life that we live. And we get paid handsomely for it. I think going into every game, we know what we’re getting ourselves into.”

Teddy Bridgewater will get the start in Week 5 against New York as the Dolphins attempt to bounce back from its first loss of the season.