The hit looked like nothing, but the now-familiar result was stomach-churning.
Late in Thursday's blowout loss to the Bills, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa escaped a collapsing pocket and burst up the middle, where he was met at the 6-yard line by safety Damar Hamlin.
Tagovailoa dove as Hamlin squared him up for a good, clean tackle. The quarterback's head and shoulders slammed into the DB's thighs and if we've seen that hit once, we've seen it 8,000 times. What happened next, no one should have to witness.
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Tagovailoa spasmed on his back, his limbs curling and contracting like the burning pages of a manuscript. It was the position of a body in distress, searching hopelessly for a signal. His right arm extended unnaturally in the telltale sign of a serious concussion.
"Tua suffered a traumatic brain injury on this play, no question," Chris Nowinski, the neuroscientist and former Harvard football player who is an expert on the subject, posted on Twitter/X. "His right arm shows the 'fencing posture' indicating loss of consciousness and is on the severe end of the concussion spectrum. He is done for the night and must miss the next game."
Nowinski may be the most outspoken advocate for brain safety in the NFL, but in this case, his response wasn't nearly strong enough. Forget about missing the next game. Tagovailoa needs to retire before he suffers catastrophic brain damage in front of millions of fans.
Is it already too late? It might be too late. CTE can only be diagnosed during an autopsy, and we generally don't learn the extent of the harm until tragedy strikes, be it Hall of Fame center Mike Webster sleeping under a bridge with dementia before dying at 50, Chris Henry fatally falling from a truck during a domestic dispute with his wife, or all-time great Junior Seau taking his own life with a shotgun to the chest.
This is Tagovailoa's fourth diagnosed concussion, including college, but it's very possible he has suffered more. In 2022, he was allowed to return to a game against the Bills after slamming his head against the turf and staggering punch-drunk to the huddle. The Dolphins dubiously diagnosed him with a back injury, but there was no avoiding the truth a week later against the Bengals when another shot to the head sent him to the hospital.
On Thursday night, Tagovailoa left the field under his own power. Coach Mike McDaniel kissed him on the side of the head in a gesture that was at once tender and insufficient, because we know how this story ends. The Dolphins will follow NFL protocol, await medical clearance, and then resume putting him in harm's way.
A lasting image from Thursday night.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 13, 2024
📷 Megan Briggs pic.twitter.com/PmoY5dnMBG
At some point, Tagovailoa may reach the conclusion that his brain can't take another hit -- Hall of Famer Steve Young finally walked away at age 38 -- but it will probably be one concussion too late. That's what's so pernicious about this issue. Concussions are brain damage. We don't know if he's capable of thinking straight.
You'd hope someone in his circle would implore him to protect his future, as his mom reportedly did two years ago, but that's not how football players are wired. We valorize those who play through pain, and Tagovailoa's refusal to leave the lineup earned him a $212 million extension. He's not just talented, he's a warrior.
Except there's nothing virtuous about having your brain scrambled for our entertainment, which is the uneasy bargain we've all made with our national game. The NFL is built on speed, skill, and yes, violence, and it's hard to miss that this latest lick was laid by Hamlin, a player who nearly died of cardiac arrest on Monday Night Football in 2023.
It's up to each player to ascertain the level of risk they're willing to assume. Some, like Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson or Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis, walk away by age 30. Others, like seven-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, remain elite for two decades and retire with their faculties intact.
They're grown men who know the deal. But in extreme cases, if the player won't make the call, you'd hope someone makes it for them before permanent damage is done.
Tagovailoa has officially crossed that line. The latest hit to lay him out wasn't even particularly vicious. His brain can only take so much punishment. How are we supposed to watch him under center again, knowing what could potentially happen on any snap? And more to the point -- why would we want to?
