In the third quarter of the Baltimore Ravens’ divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills on January 16, 2021, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw the ball away on an errant snap, was flagged for intentional grounding, and was sent to the sideline to go through concussion symptom testing after his head was slammed to the ground.
The Ravens were down 17-3 in a playoff game, Jackson showed symptoms, and he was taken out of the game for his own good. The Ravens were unable to score with backup Tyler Huntley, and they were eliminated from the postseason.
“I’m not frustrated at all. He was in the concussion protocol. He had a concussion and was ruled out with a concussion. That’s where it stands,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of the situation after the game.
That was an example of a team looking out for a player’s interests, no matter the result. So when Harbaugh was asked on Friday about the Miami Dolphins’ handling of the Tua Tagovailoa situation, in which Tagovailoa appeared wobbly and was shaking his head following a hit in Miami’s win over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, the Dolphins putting Tagovailoa back into the game in the second half, and starting Tagovailoa four days later against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football? Well, Harbaugh has earned a bit of credibility on the issue.
From ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin:
Asked about concussions, John Harbaugh said he was “astonished” by what he saw last night w/ Tua… And he couldn’t believe what he saw last week either pic.twitter.com/3wkzrGXUbJ
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) September 30, 2022
“I couldn’t believe what I saw,” Harbaugh said about Thursday night. “I couldn’t believe what I saw last Sunday. It was astonishing to see. I’ve been coaching for 40 years — college and the NFL — and I’ve never seen anything like it before. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I really appreciate our doctors, and I appreciate our owner.”
The NFLPA asked for an investigation into the Dolphins’ decision to put Tagovailoa back in the game against the Bills, and you can certainly add Tagovailoa’s presence in the Bengals game, as well. Of course, Tagovailoa suffered a head injury in that game (which the Dolphins confirmed), Tagovailoa was taken to University of Cincinnati Hospital, and flew back to Miami with the team last night.
Following the injury in the Bengals game, Tagovailoa appeared to exhibit a “fencing response position,” which is generally an involuntary physical response to head trauma.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel’s response after the Bengals gave wasn’t quite as airtight as Harbaugh’s had been.
McDaniel on Tua: "The best news we could get is that everything is checked out and he didn't have anything more serious. A concussion and he will be flying back with us on the plane."
— Al Butler (@ALaboutSports) September 30, 2022
Well, we’d say that a concussion, and what appeared to be a physical reaction to what could be more serious head trauma — the results of which don’t usually present right away — is serious enough.
The point is, there are teams that handle concussions seriously, and teams that pay only the lip service to it that they’re obligated to pay. The safety of the players in this or that organization can clearly be greatly affected by the differences in adherence to an internal go/no-go policy.
