Patriots' Bill Belichick says players go through 'coaching clearance' even if they are medically cleared

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The injuries Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained in Weeks 3 and 4 of the current NFL season, which most recently included a concussion, have sparked a conversation throughout the league about the handling of those injuries and even prompted change to the NFL's current concussion protocol. 

On Monday, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick revealed that, outside any medical decisions made, he has intervened before if he believed a player wasn’t fit to play. 

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said he doesn’t play a role in deciding the status of any injured player, regardless of the injury. (Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

"I’ve definitely done that before," Belichick said during his weekly appearance on "The Greg Hill Show." 

DOLPHINS’ TUA TAGOVAILOA WILL NOT PLAY WEEK 5 VS JETS, NO ‘DEFINITIVE TIMELINE’ FOR RETURN, MIKE MCDANIEL SAYS

"Oh, yeah. If I see a player that I think is not functioning properly, and for some reason it hasn’t been identified, then absolutely. I have done that — I would say not recently. Those are things that have happened at other points in my career. But yeah, absolutely."

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has faced a line of questioning over the team’s decision to play Tagovailoa in Week 4 after he displayed concussion-like symptoms after hitting his head on the ground during Miami’s game against the Buffalo Bills — a game to which he was also cleared to return. 

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looks to the sidelines during the first half of his game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Just five days later he would