NFL
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa in retirement talk
Speaking to the gathered media, the talented quarterback revealed his discussions following serious concussions suffered.
During the Miami Dolphins’ pre-draft press conference on Wednesday, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa revealed that he had contemplated retirement in the offseason following the concussions he suffered during the 2022 season. The 25-year-old athlete’s second documented concussion of the season ended his 2022 season on Christmas Day.
Is Tagovailoa thinking about retirement?
Earlier, he had missed the games between Sept. 30 and Oct. 22 due to a head injury he sustained during a game in Cincinnati, which prompted the NFL to revise the league concussion protocol. However, Tagovailoa expressed his desire to continue playing football long enough for his son to understand and appreciate his career.
“I considered (retirement) for a time, having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kinds of conversations,” Tagovailoa said. “But really it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am. ...
“It’s my health, it’s my body. I feel like this is what’s best for me and my family. I love the game of football. If I didn’t, I would have quit a long time ago.”
Tua wants to get better
Instead, Tagovailoa said he’s learning how to fall.
Still a white belt in jiu-jitsu, Tagovailoa said he went back with his martial arts coach and watched plays of him getting tackled to teach himself how not to land like that in the future.
“I want to get better at everything that I can do to help the team win games. And I know the biggest one is my health, staying out on the field,” he said. “So, looking at the film, I was able to watch that with my jiu-jitsu coach and we were able to kind of relive the scenario and how I got tackled, how I fell.
“Multiple ways I got taken down and how I could have prevented that.”
The Dolphins exercised quarterback Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option in March. He’s now signed through the 2024 season. The option covering next season is worth $23.2 million.
Miami used the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft to select Tagovailoa. In 2022, his first season with new coach Mike McDaniel, Tagovailoa posted career bests in nearly every category and was 8-5 as a starter. He had 3,548 passing yards, averaged 13.7 yards per completion with 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 105.5.