Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa still faces concussion concerns - ESPN

IT WAS GETTING late the night of Sept. 12, and Dr. Julian Bailes had settled in to watch a little football. The renowned neurosurgeon and concussions expert tuned in just as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained yet another head injury.

There was Tagovailoa, lying on the ground with his arms outstretched and his fingers curled into the fencing response, an involuntary position that occurs after a brain injury. To Bailes, it looked almost like a replay from a previous Thursday night game, Sept. 29, 2022, with Tagovailoa on his back, his fingers splayed in front of his face in another automatic response to a concussion.

Bailes was one of the doctors the Dolphins consulted during Tagovailoa's string of concussions two years ago, and the quarterback eventually sat out the rest of the season after suffering another one in a Christmas Day game against Green Bay.

«Why do you think we're back here in the same situation two years later?» Bailes said. «It's the style of play for him. He stuck his head in there and he's not afraid and he's a great athlete and he wanted to get a few more yards. He stuck his head in there without thinking in that split second.

»So, that's a big part of why we're back again. Same guy, same susceptibility and same style of play."

Tagovailoa is a high-profile quarterback who has now sustained three diagnosed concussions over the span of two years, plus another head injury that prompted the NFL to change its concussion policy. So, naturally, Tagovailoa's health and playing future have been among the most heavily scrutinized stories in the NFL this season.

Pundits have discussed how many concussions are too many; TV analysts and social media types implored Tagovailoa to retire; and South