Both the calendar year and the 2022 NFL regular season are nearing their respective finishes. The league’s concussion problem is far from over, however.
According to a report from Mike Jones of The Athletic, the NFLPA is looking into the handling of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after the team placed him in concussion protocol on Monday for the second time this season.
Tagovailoa played the entirety of Miami’s 26-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 on Sunday, and when telling reporters of the team’s decision on Monday, head coach Mike McDaniel said it wasn’t clear when the quarterback would have suffered a concussion.
Jones further reported that the union has “not yet requested a full-on investigation into the matter” and officials are waiting for the “details of an incident report,” which are expected later on Tuesday. Per Jones, Tagovailoa’s status for Sunday’s Week 17 contest against the New England Patriots is unclear — despite the outcry of various talking heads to shut down the Alabama product for the rest of the season.
On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted a video of Tagovailoa being tackled and his head striking the ground hard during the second quarter of Sunday’s game, speculating that that was when the injury occurred. While Tagovailoa has been the face of the NFL’s concussion-related issues in 2022, there have been plenty of other notable instances.
In early October, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate suffered a concussion during the team’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Brate came off the field after the injury but was briefly allowed to return, before coming off again and ultimately being ruled out with the concussion. Two weeks later, he was stretchered off the field during the Bucs’ contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a neck injury.
Earlier this month, New England Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker suffered a concussion in the team’s Week 14 “Monday Night Football” game against the Arizona Cardinals and it was reported the next day that the NFL and NFLPA were “reviewing the circumstances surrounding the sequence of events” of his injury.
The NFL and NFLPA have already made modifications to the league’s concussion protocols once this season. It may be time to look at making some more changes again.
