NFL, NFLPA reach agreement to modify concussion protocol

The NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to modify the league's concussion protocol following a joint investigation into the league's procedures after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered an injury against the Buffalo Bills last month.

The league and players' union said in a joint statement Saturday that the Dolphins followed the league's protocol after the injury, but the outcome of the Tagovailoa case "was not what was intended when the Protocol was drafted." As a result, language addressing abnormality of balance/stability was added to the league's protocol list of symptoms that would keep a player from returning to action.

Tagovailoa was immediately taken to the locker room and taken through the NFL's concussion protocol, after which he was cleared of any head injury. He started the third quarter, drawing criticism from viewers about why he was allowed to return to the game.

The NFL and NFLPA said they reviewed video and jointly interviewed members of the Dolphins' medical staff, the head athletic trainer, the Booth ATC Spotter, the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant and Tagovailoa.

They found that Tagovailoa did not show any signs or symptoms of a concussion during his locker room exam, during the rest of the game, or throughout the following week. But immediately after he took the hit from Milano, gross motor instability was present.

After the game, Tagovailoa and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said the quarterback had suffered a back injury earlier in the game on a quarterback sneak.

The review said Tagovailoa told the medical staff that he aggravated his back injury on the play in question and that his back injury caused him to stumble. It also said the medical staff determined that the gross motor