Thursday Night Football brought a scare to NFL fans everywhere when Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went down with a scary concussion after a hit from Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. This was now Tua's third serious head injury and many people are calling for him to retire before doing more damage to his health.
It's well known Bills fans are some of the most dedicated in the league and they couldn't help but try to support Tagovailoa after what happened on Thursday evening. Bills Mafia has donated more than $16,000 to the quarterback's foundation:
A very classy gesture from Bills Mafia. Tagovailoa left the game and never returned and had trouble getting up:
Just a scary scene. Of course, Hamlin was in a similar situation but far worse last season when he collapsed on the field.
Current, past NFL players call for Tagovailoa to retire
It's obviously unimaginable for Tua Tagovailoa to call it a career at such a young age, but every single concussion he's endured has been terrible. There's only so much trauma the brain can take. The reality is Tua is going to live a lot longer than he's going to play football. Following Thursday's incident, numerous players, current and past, said he must consider retirement.
“Really hope Tua is ok, but he’s gotta seriously think about shutting it dwn. I H8 saying this. His concussions are getting worse and worse and he’s a young man with his entire life ahead of him,” Shannon Sharpe wrote on X.
That’s it….NFL go ahead and do the right thing. Tua has had entirely way too many concussions. He need to retire for his longevity health concerns,” Dez Bryant said on X.
Bills QB Josh Allen also addressed the situation after the game:
“If you know Tua outside of football like I do, you can't help but feel for him,” Allen said. “He's a great football player, but he's an even greater human being. He's one of the best humans on the planet. I've got a lot of love for him. I'm just praying for him and his family and hoping everything is OK.”
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, who played in the league for a long time, was asked about Tua Tagovailoa on Friday. His answer was blunt: He needs to hang them up:
“I'll be honest, I'd tell him to retire. It's not worth it,” Pierce said. “Playing the game, I haven't witnessed anything like what's happened to him three times. Scary — you could see right away; the players' faces on the field. You could see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help. I just think at some point — he's going to live longer than he's going to play football. Take care of your family.”
Others who commented included Antonio Brown, Adrian Amos, and also Hamlin.
Tagovailoa has some massive decisions to make. Sure, he's a fantastic player and a key piece for the Dolphins organization, but we're talking about his life here. One more traumatic concussion and who knows what could happen.