MIAMI — The unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion check last Sunday has been fired by the NFL Players Association, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald, after the union found the person made multiple mistakes in the evaluation.
The NFLPA launched an investigation into the Dolphins’ handling of Tagovailoa’s injury against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 25 after Tagovailoa hit his head on the ground and stumbled before being removed from the field. Tagovailoa was listed as questionable to return with a head injury and came back into the game at the start of the second half. He later said he passed a concussion test and it was a back injury that caused him to stumble.
Tagovailoa sustained a concussion and was carted off the field on a stretcher in the Dolphins’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, sparking more questions about why he played just four days after hitting his head against the Bills. His hands tensed up in a manner consistent with a fencing response — a classic symptom of a concussion — and he lay motionless for several minutes while trainers attended to him.
