The Miami Dolphins Are Going To Murder Tua Tagovailoa

Rarely do we all get to witness a tragic story in real time. The Tua Tagovailoa story will be a 30 for 30 or Netflix doc about one of the most talented football prospects ever having their life taken from them by the viciousness of football, their own hubris, and coaching staffs more focused on their own job security than the longevity of this man’s life.

In 2018, the legend of Tua was born.

Alabama QB1, Jalen Hurts, suffered an injury in the National Championship Game leading to freshman Tagovailoa coming into the game and leading a game-winning overtime drive ending with a touchdown pass—his 3rd TD of the game. He was named MVP and ‘Tanking for Tua’ became the motto for a lot of terrible NFL franchises.

His junior season is when the wheels began to fall off. In a game against Mississipi State, Tua was sacked so fucking hard that his hip was dislocated. He also broke his nose and suffered a concussion ¹ during the play.

After finally being drafted by the Dolphins despite an alarming hip injury and footage or game tape on how his body looked following that brutal hit, Tua struggled to get onto the field battling with Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting job.

But with the hiring of new head coach, Mike McDaniel, came a newfound spark in Tua. In Week 2, Tua had one of the best games in NFL history. Here’s a quick look at his stat line from that day:

36-for-50 (72%)
469 yards
6 touchdowns
124.1 passer rating
9.3 yards per attempt

With a game like that under his belt and Miami sitting at 2-0, it shocked no one that Tua Tagovailoa returned after this moment in Week 3 against the Bills:

Here’s a great idea.. let Tua go back in the game.

No concussion to see here. pic.twitter.com/2RqQgMmp4D

— Andrew Peters (@TheInstigator76) September 25, 2022

Tua’s brain clearly leaked onto the field as he stumbled to the sidelines but Miami told all of us that he didn’t even go through concussion protocol and instead, he suffered a back injury even though we all saw his consciousness leave his body.

So yea, this happened 4 days later on Thursday night football because of course this happened:

⚠️CONTENT WARNING | GRAPHIC VIDEO⚠️

Just days after sustaining a serious neck/head injury, Tua Tagovailoa has suffered additional head trauma and displayed the fencing response.

Tagovailoa was stabilized and stretchered off the field. Very scary sight. pic.twitter.com/ks52j4Cs2P

— Prime Time Sports Talk (@TalkPrimeTime) September 30, 2022

That is a clip of a 24-year-old young man who should have not been allowed on the field that night and who is about to start this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Yes, this is Tua’s decision and no one is making him play. And yes, we are not doctors and medical professionals cleared him to play but those same medical professionals cleared him to play in Week 4.

There are former NFL players who have come out and said they always passed the NFL concussion protocol by simply memorizing the answers to the questions the doctors asked.

This is also a league that just THIS YEAR lost a lawsuit by retired black players who claimed they weren’t given financial support for their dementia because the NFL used a testing system that essentially set the bar lower for black players than white players meaning if you took a cognitive exam in hopes of earning money to help pay for brain injuries suffered while playing for the NFL, black players would almost always fail that test because the results were skewed more to reward the ‘smart’ white players.

I say all this to say, no one gives a shit about Tua’s health or his future.

Mike McDaniel is a brand new head coach and needs Tua to advance his career.

The front office went all in on this kid and their year-end bonuses and summer vacation houses are dependent on him being on the field.

The NFL wants to act as if head injuries aren’t that big of a deal.

Fans only want to see the Dolphins win by any means necessary.

Tua Tagovailoa is going to die young and we all sat on our couches watching his brain explode every week. I am extremely excited to see the NBA return where the biggest problem is Kevin Durant tweeting too much.