Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou made clear that he had no intention of hurting Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the sack that resulted in head and neck injuries for the Miami signal-caller during Thursday night’s game between the two AFC teams.
Speaking with reporters on Friday morning, Tupou explained that he was just trying to get Tagovailoa to the ground and that he didn’t know how bad the injury was right after the play that caused the 24-year-old to leave the game on a stretcher.
“I didn’t realize how bad it was after the initial sack. I had no ill intentions of trying to hurt Tua,” Tupou said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I was just trying to get him on the ground.”
According to Mike Petraglia, Tupou said that he did not find out that Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in his extremities until after the game. He also said he has not reached out or spoken to the third-year quarterback after Thursday night’s events.
“I never want to hurt anybody in the NFL, especially another Polynesian brother,” the 28-year-old said, per Baby.
The injury to Tagovailoa marred what would have otherwise been a celebratory moment for Tupou: the first sack of his NFL career. The Bengals went on to win Thursday’s game 27–15.
Though Cincinnati triumphed at home over one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, Tagovailoa’s injury dominated the discourse on Thursday night. The NFL world sent an outpouring of thoughts and prayers to the 24-year-old after veteran Teddy Bridgewater replaced him behind center for Miami.
The Dolphins later announced that Tagovailoa was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The team noted that he was conscious and “has movement in all his extremities.”
Later in the evening, the Dolphins shared that Tagovailoa had been discharged from the medical center on Thursday night and would travel back to Miami with the rest of the team. He is now in concussion protocol and is expected to undergo an MRI upon his return to South Florida, as first reported by Josina Anderson.
Thursday’s incident came just five days after Tagovailoa temporarily left last Sunday’s game against the Bills after his head hit the ground on a play in the second quarter. After he stood up, he stumbled, prompting trainers to rush out onto the field and lead him back into the locker room.
Tagovailoa cleared concussion protocol at the time and was officially diagnosed with a back injury. He returned to the game in the second half and later told reporters that his back “locked up” after the hit, causing him to stumble.
The NFLPA launched an investigation into the Dolphins’ handling of Tagovailoa’s concussion check on Sunday and reiterated that the investigation was still ongoing following the events on Thursday. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union plans to “pursue every legal option” available when considering the outcome of the investigation.
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