The Miami Dolphins experienced a scary situation during their Thursday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went down with a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Tagovailoa attempted to secure a first down run on his own, but the result of a tackle from Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin led to the Dolphins’ signal-caller suffering a scary hit to the head.
What makes this situation far more personal for Hamlin is that he barely returned to action himself less than two years ago after suffering a harrowing medical scare of his own. Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle in Jan. 2023. The result of the hit led to him suffering cardiac arrest and having to be transported to a hospital.
Thankfully, Hamlin recovered and has since been cleared for full action in the NFL in 2024. However, the tackle he made on Tagovailoa led to the “trauma” of his own medical scare resurfacing.
Hamlin spoke to The Athletic after the game.
“I was just trying to make a routine tackle,” Hamlin told Tim Graham, “trying to get them off the field on fourth down.”
No one can blame Hamlin for stepping up and stopping Tagovailoa from securing more than a first down during a fourth down play. The issue is instead of sliding safely with his feet, Tagovailoa instead went head-first into Hamlin.
The result of the tackle led to the third documented concussion for Tagovailoa and could lead to deeper discussions about whether he should play the rest of this season or beyond.
Regardless of Hamlin’s intent to make a routine tackle, Thursday’s incident revealed the trauma of his medical scare is ever-present.
“It’s trauma. It will always be there,” Hamlin said at his stall in the visitor’s locker room. “I’m able to not be affected by it because of the work that I’ve done. I went through trauma therapy. I have a psychologist I talk to. It’s allowed me to push my mind forward, and push my process forward.”
Hamlin also reiterated that his “mind is clear” as he was simply playing football. Still, the Bills safety was completely classy in his response to the tackle, and his shout-out of Tagovailoa following the end of the game.
Hamlin was playing football, which can be a dangerous game. Every player in the NFL understands this and they go into every game knowing that an injury can happen at any moment. Sometimes those injuries are minor, but sometimes they can be season-ending or worse.
Now, Tagovailoa will need to contemplate his next decision following the team’s concussion protocols. At the very least, Tagovailoa will be out for Week 3. What happens beyond that will be determined via testing and conversations with medical professionals.
