Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel announced after his team’s 27-15 Week 4 loss to the Bengals on “Thursday Night Football” that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had suffered a concussion on a second-quarter sack that resulted in him being stretchered off the field.
The rookie coach insisted that Tagovailoa did not suffer a concussion in a similar-looking incident Sunday.
Tagovailoa staggered after being hit by Bills linebacker Matt Milano in the second quarter of Miami’s 21-19 win. At the time, many presumed he had suffered a concussion, but he was diagnosed with a back injury and returned to play.
MORE: Tua Tagovailoa suffers concussion — Latest updates on Dolphins QB
McDaniel was asked about that injury during his postgame news conference Thursday night: Could he express with 100 percent certainty that the third-year quarterback hadn’t, in fact, suffered a concussion against the Bills?
“Yeah, otherwise we would have reported him having a head injury,” McDaniel told reporters. “That’s why the NFL has these protocols.”
Why was Tua Tagovailoa cleared to return after being injured vs. Bills?
McDaniel said there were “five or six different layers” involved in the process of determining that Tagovailoa had not suffered a head injury against the Bills.
“It starts with your medical staff, but then there’s independent specialists that look into it, too,” he said. “There’s an entire protocol, and you’re talking to the player as well.”
MORE: NFL world reacts to Tua Tagovailoa injury – ‘No reason’ QB should have been playing
McDaniel said that the NFL has an independent neurological consultant at each game. That person, who “specializes in brain matter,” is available to ensure parts of the protocols are enforced.
NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller told The Washington Post on Wednesday that the league believes the Dolphins followed the protocol properly.
What is Mike McDaniel’s stance on the NFL’s concussion protocol?
The coach vowed that, as long as he is in charge of the Dolphins, the team would follow the protocol to a T.
For me, as long as I’m coaching here, I’m not going to fudge that whole situation. If there’s any sort of inclination that someone has a concussion, they go into concussion protocol and it’s very strict. We don’t mess with that. Never have and as long as I’m the head coach, so it will never be an issue that you guys have to worry about.
McDaniel said the No. 1 thing he is worried about is Tagovailoa’s health. He described Tagovailoa’s concussion as “scary” and said it was “an emotional moment” for himself and the team.
“That is not part of the deal that anyone signs up for, even though you know it’s a possibility in football,” McDaniel said. “To have something [happen] that you have to get taken off on a stretcher is, you know — all of his teammates, myself. We were all very, very concerned.”
MORE: Amazon criticized for its coverage of Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion
But with Tagovailoa having movement in his extremities and then being discharged from the hospital Thursday night, both coach and team are feeling better.
“The best news that we could get is that everything is checked out,” he said. “That he didn’t have anything more serious than a concussion [and] he’ll be flying back with us here on the plane.”
Hits: 0
