Tua Tagovailoa will be hoping for an injury-free 2023 season after a series of concussions during the last campaign, which even led to medical experts advising that he should retire from the NFL.
The Miami Dolphins are invested in Tagovailoa and the quarterback has been working extremely hard already this offseason to be in perfect shape for September. Tagovailoa was placed on concussion protocol twice last season following a series of hard hits, and concern grew from doctors over his wellbeing.
We are learning more about the long-lasting effects of concussions each year, and Tagovailoa was advised by many to call it a day while still young and healthy. The quarterback deeply considered this, but has now opened up on why he decided to keep playing.
Tagovailoa sustained two official concussions last season, and there were questions over whether he may even have suffered a third. Three concussions in an 18-week regular season is not healthy, and there's already concern that any more hits could mean his career has to come to an end.
But for now Tagovailoa has committed to playing, and addressed his reasoning in a press conference on Wednesday. "Yeah, I think I considered it, you know, for a time, having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kind of conversations," Tagovailoa said.
"Really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am, with my son. I always dreamed of growing - playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do.
"Yeah, I mean it’s my health, it’s my body. 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]."
Tagovailoa has been taking judo classes to master the art of falling, as there were suggestions that his technique may have led to his injuries last season. The Dolphins quarterback also addressed this in the briefing, when being asked about his offseason work so far.
"Obviously learned how to fall," Tagovailoa said. "Learned some grappling techniques. Learned some other things too that I don’t think I should disclose. But for the most part, learned how to fall.
"You think it’s easy. Just don’t fall and hit your head. But a lot more to it. It’s actually a lot cooler than you think when you hear of learning how to fall. I’ve been falling a lot this offseason. So I think just like anything else, you continue to train it, you continue to work it that it becomes second nature."
