Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa on injury concerns after return to practice: 'I love football to the death of me'

Wednesday marked the first time in more than a month Tua Tagovailoa was able to participate in a Miami Dolphins practice. He sat out the past four games as he recovered from his latest concussion.

Tagovailoa still needs to progress through the final stages of the NFL's concussion protocol to play Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. But returning to practice gets him one step closer to being able to compete in a game.

"I feel very good about how he attacked this whole process and how he came out of it to this day," Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said before Wednesday’s practice. "And you hope for a couple days of good work so then you have no blips, and you’re cleared to play."

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Tagovailoa has met with numerous medical experts who specialize in brain and head injuries since being diagnosed with the third concussion of his NFL career Sept. 12. The experts determined it was safe for him to return to football, McDaniel said Monday.

Tagovailoa said he would not wear a Guardian Cap, the protective soft-shell helmet cover that is optional for players to wear in games. He described the decision as a "personal choice." He already wears a quarterback-specific helmet designed to help reduce head injuries.

Tagovailoa acknowledged some of the concerns of him potentially suffering another head injury

"I appreciate your concern," Tagovailoa told reporters. "I really do. I love this game, and I love it to the death of me. That’s it."

He also said life comes with a level of everyday risk. He also made it clear he is aware of the inherent risk that comes with playing in the NFL.

"How much risk do we take when we get up in the morning to go drive to work? Can get in a car crash," Tagovailoa said. "Every time we all suit up, we’re all taking a risk that we could potentially get hurt, whether it’s a concussion, a broken bone, anything. You get up off of the bed the wrong way, you potentially could risk you spraining your ankle. There’s just risk in any and everything, and I’m willing to play the odds."

Tagovailoa was concussed twice in 2022, the latter of which briefly knocked him unconscious, and he suffered a third hard hit to the head that was not diagnosed as a concussion. 

Tagovailoa's Week 2 concussion came when he initiated contact with Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding. His teammates said they have since stressed that he should slide in those situations in the future.

"We can say those things to him until we’re blue in the face," said running back Raheem Mostert. "But one thing that I would say, there’s always my saying, ‘You can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.’ We’re going to bring Tua to that water, but we can’t make him drink."

McDaniel added that once Tagovailoa does start playing, making sure he is doing everything possible to protect himself will be of the utmost importance.

"I think he has a better understanding of his responsibility towards the entire organization at this point … and feels tremendous responsibility to do anything in his power to be on the field, so part of that is protecting yourself," McDaniel said. "He has to be able to protect himself … regardless of the first down conversion that he’s trying to get, for him to be on the field with his team that he needs to be smart about how he engages in contact."

The Dolphins averaged more than 200 yards passing and 400 total yards per game with Tagovailoa last season. They were second in scoring with 29.2 points and led the league in explosive plays of at least 10 yards.

Under Skylar Thompson, Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle, Miami has not scored more than 15 points, and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have seen a significant drop in production with Tagovailoa out. They had a combined 19 yards on two catches in Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

McDaniel also noted that Tagovailoa should not be considered the "savior" of Miami’s offense once he returns.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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