Tua Tagovailoa has cleared the concussion protocol, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. This was his second stint in the protocol this season and this time around he met with several medical professionals and they are confident that he will be 100% when it comes time to return to football.
Tagovailoa’s latest head injury came on Christmas Day against the Packers. He self-reported concussion symptoms the next day after playing the entire game and subsequently missed the rest of the season and the team’s wild-card game against the Bills that they would go on to lose.
The Dolphins quarterback appeared to suffer a head injury in September against the Bills. After the injury, an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant cleared him to return to the game. Four days later, in Miami’s Week 4 game against the Bengals, Tagovailoa was knocked unconscious after hitting the back of his head on the ground. He was briefly hospitalized and subsequently entered the protocol. The consultant who cleared him a week earlier was eventually fired.
The incident led to a joint league and NFL Players Association investigation, which resulted in the league changing its concussion protocol to mandate that any player who shows possible concussion symptoms—including a lack of balance or stability—sit out the remainder of a game.
Tagovailoa’s 2022 season ended with 3,528 passing yards, 25 touchdown passes and eight interceptions with the Dolphins finishing 9–8 on the year.
