After Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered his third concussion in the last three seasons, many expressed concern about his long-term health and whether or not he should continue his NFL career.
Some feel it’s incumbent on the team — or even the NFL — to prevent Tagovailoa from taking the field again this year in the name of protecting him from himself.
However, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills clarified that the league can’t actually intervene on behalf of a player when it comes to deciding when he can return to play or if he should be forced to retire due to medical reasons.
“Patient autonomy and medical decision-making really matters, and I think that’s what we have to recognize goes on with our concussion protocol as well,” Sills told ESPN. “Ultimately, when patients make decisions about considering their careers, it has to reflect that autonomy that’s generated from discussions with medical experts giving them best medical advice.”
Because there’s no blueprint to determine a player’s risk or injury or re-injury after they return to play, Sills said the NFL’s control over injuries essentially ends once a player is cleared to play or they pass the league’s concussion protocol.
Sep 25, 2022; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) is helped off the field by staff after a apparent injury against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium.
Rich Storry-Imagn Images
The NFL concussion protocol requires a player to complete five phases — symptom-limited activity, aerobic exercise, football-specific exercise, club-based non-contact drills and clearance for full football activity.
“It’s not like we can put in your number of concussions and how long between them and your age and some unusual constant…and come up with a risk,” Sills added. “It just doesn’t work that way.
“So what we end up having to do is look at the totality of the patient’s experience, how many concussions, the interval between those concussions, some about duration of symptoms after each concussion, and then very much the patient’s voice about where they are in their journey, their career, their age and things of that nature.”
Tagovailoa is one of 10 players — and the only quarterback — to enter the NFL’s concussion protocol at least three times.
