Brian Daboll gets emotional discussing Tua Tagovailoa's scary injury Thursday night
It was a horrific sight, Tua Tagovailoa lying motionless on the field in Cincinnati on Thursday night after sustaining a massive blow to the back of his head — just four days after hitting the back of his head on the ground against Buffalo and coming up wobbly.
And it was all the more heart wrenching for those who know Tagovailoa personally, including New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Daboll was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Alabama in 2017, Tagovailoa’s freshman year, and the coach got emotional on Friday when speaking about watching the scene on Thursday night play out.
“Any time a guy gets hurt…prayers for him and his family,” Daboll said, according to Nick Faria. Other reporters noted that the first-year head coach got emotional when speaking about what happened.
Tagovailoa was taken to a local hospital where he was reported to have movement in all his extremities. He was eventually diagnosed with a concussion and did manage to travel home with the team after the game on Thursday night.
The NFLPA is pushing for further scrutiny into how Tagovailoa was cleared to play Thursday
The NFLPA released a statement Thursday night wishing the best for Tagovailoa, who was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center — a Level 1 trauma center — after the big hit. The Dolphins confirmed he had full movement of his extremities and was conscious after the play.
But the league is also looking into how Miami handled Tagovailoa the last time he suffered a big hit. That was just four days ago against the Buffalo Bills, and the NFLPA said an investigation is ongoing after Thursday’s injury.
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“Player health and safety is at the core of the union’s mission,” the NFLPA wrote via Twitter. “Our concern tonight is for Tua and we hope for a full and speedy recovery. Our investigation into the potential protocol violation is ongoing.”