Tua Tagovailoa considered early NFL retirement after series of concussions

Tua Tagovailoa considered walking away from football after a series of head injuries last season.

Tagovailoa was diagnosed with two concussions last season and many questioned if it was safe for the Miami Dolphins quarterback to continue playing. But after talking to his family and doctors, the 25-year-old ruled out retirement and started training in martial arts this offseason to help reduce head injuries.

“I always dreamed of playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do,” Tagovailoa said on Wednesday. “It’s my health. It’s my body. And 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.”

Now, Tagovailoa is learning how to fall. Though he’s still early in his jiu jitsu training – he is currently a white belt – Tagovailoa is working on ways to land more safely when he’s on the field.

“We used crash pads at first with trying to fall,” he said. “Obviously tucking your chin, that was one of the deals. It went a lot more into the technique of how to disperse your energy when you fall, the posture you want to be in, and if you’re not presented that posture, what are other things that you can do to help you disperse the energy when you fall.”

Tagovailoa will have to wait until the start of the season to see how his training translates to the field, where split-second decision-making can affect whether or not a player gets hurt.

“I’ve been falling a lot this offseason. Just like with anything else, you continue to train it. You continue to work at it – it becomes second nature,” Tagovailoa said. “When a situation like that does happen, it’s not something new that’s presented to you. And for guys at my