Tua Tagovailoa in thoughts of Giants players, coaches who know him
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is sacked by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou during the second quarter of their game at Paycor Stadium on Thursday in Cincinnati. Credit: Getty Images/Andy Lyons
The Giants who know Tua Tagovailoa well found it difficult to watch the Dolphins quarterback knocked out with his hands in spasm during Thursday night’s game against the Bengals.
“He means a lot to me,” said head coach Brian Daboll, who was Tagovailoa’s offensive coordinator when they won a national championship together at Alabama his freshman year, nearly choking up on Friday recalling the sight. “Special kid, great family. It was tough.”
The fact he was injured on Sunday with an injury that looked similar but was not diagnosed with a concussion, then played Thursday only to suffer this concussion, made it all the more so.
Asked if he has an issue with how Tagovailoa’s injury situation was handled during this past week, former Alabama teammate and Giants safety Xavier McKinney was blunt.
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But at the end of the day I don’t really know what’s going on with that organization.”
The league has said that protocols were followed regarding both injuries to Tagovailoa, which only made McKinney question the protocols that put him in that situation.
“With that happening I think something needs to be done,” McKinney said. “I don’t want to see things like that, obviously guys around the league, people around the world, they don’t want to ever see those injuries on TV. I think something needs to be addressed.”
On Friday, Miami coach Mike McDaniel said he had no timetable on when Tagovailoa might be able to return. “I’m not even really thinking about timetables or anything regarding him as a player right now,” he said. “It’s all about Tua the person.”
Tagovailoa was sacked late in the first half Thursday. On the play, he spun awkwardly and was thrown to the turf. While on the ground, Tagovailoa appeared to display the fencing response, with his fingers frozen in front of his face. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded onto a backboard and stretchered off the field. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for evaluation. The Dolphins later said he was conscious and had movement in all of his extremities. He was discharged and flew back to Miami with the team.
McDaniel said Tagovailoa was interacting with teammates on the flight home. He sat next to McDaniel and talked to him about the game. “His personality was normal Tua,” he said.
Tagovailoa issued a statement via Twitter on Friday “to thank everyone for all of their prayers and support.”
The Giants weren’t the only ones to discuss Tagovailoa. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had perhaps the most forceful rebuke of the way things were handled.
“I couldn’t believe what I saw last night,” Harbaugh told reporters in Baltimore. “I couldn’t believe what I saw last Sunday. It was just something that was astonishing to see. I’ve been coaching for 40 years now, college in the NFL, almost 40, and I’ve never seen anything like it before. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
He added: “You don’t put them out [on the field] until they are ready.”
That is something Daboll seemed to imply as a first-year head coach who now has something of a say in who plays and who doesn’t as they return from injuries.
“I think every decision is different,” he said. “I don’t really think about them as players. I know I’m a coach, but I try to think about them as, they’re not too far off from my kids’ [ages].”
Daboll said he hadn’t yet reached out to Tagovalia or his family.
“I think it’s respect for him,” Daboll said.
But the quarterback was clearly in a lot of thoughts around the Giants building on Friday.
“Anytime a guy gets hurt, and I saw it, just prayers for him, his family and the people around him,” Daboll said.
“That’s my guy,” McKinney said. “I’m just praying for him, praying for him and his family. I hope everything is fine and we can get to see him back out there soon and everything is OK.”
— With AP
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
