At Only Age 26, Is It Time for Tua to Retire?

If you saw my split up stories about Week 1, then you know that my new plan for weekly recaps is splitting up the stories if it is warranted. It can be difficult to try to cram mentions for 16 games in one story. Regarding Week 2, I originally was going to cram it all and wait until the Monday game ends. This is despite the fact that this was the beginning of Amazon Prime's third season of Thursday Night Football, and also despite the fact that the game featured was the Miami Dolphins hosting the Buffalo Bills. These two teams are predicted to be battling it out for the AFC East, and this was the first of two meetings this year. Even so, I was going to wait to discuss this.

And then, Tua Tagovailoa's health was endangered once again. We need to talk.

First off, this was Miami's chance to make up for how their last meeting ended, and they weren't even close. Tua threw two picks in the first half, and Miami's defense (who I foolishly started on some of my fantasy teams) did absolutely nothing. It was 24-10 Bills at halftime, and then Tua threw his third pick of the game--and this one was taken to the house.

So yeah, the game was over, but the Dolphins attempted to keep on trucking. It was late in the third quarter, and Miami was driving down the field. A third down play saw Tua run it for a first down. It would be the last thing he did that night. Tua's head collided with Damar Hamlin, and Tua ended up down--and he was locking up his fingers as he was down. We've seen this before, sadly.

A concussion. Tua's third already. We all remember two years ago when Tua was first concussed, and yet, he was sent back out there for the next game, where it happened again. This is just awful. Tua's only 26. Yet he's been through so much pain and anguish already. Three concussions in his brief NFL career already--two of them in one season in a span of less than a week. Regarding this one, many have pointed out Tua's refusal/inability to slide while running. Quarterbacks slide at the end of runs because contact is avoided when they do. Any and all contact at a sliding QB is penalized. Instead, Tua goes in head first, which is immensely dangerous.

Many have pointed out the scary irony that Tua's concussion came when his head came in contact with, of all players, Damar Hamlin. It's been close to two years, yet we all still remember how worried and frightened we were when Hamlin suffered his cardiac arrest after being struck in the chest by a tackle. The only thought I had was that Hamlin had to have been immensely worried for Tua because of what happened to him in January 2023. By the way, Tua's 2nd concussion and Hamlin's cardiac arrest both happened in games against the Bengals--in the same season (2022). Yikes.

Which brings us to the main story here. There are many now saying that Tua, at the age of 26, needs to retire. The concern for his health is very immense. This is his third concussion in as many seasons--fourth, in a way, if you count the game against the Packers late in 2022, which is his third that year. We hear a lot of stories of players who had to retire much earlier than planned due to injuries that were too crippling, or even illnesses. Honestly, I'm very much on the side of Tua hanging it up. We all know he won't, after all, he's 26 and feels like he has a lot left to play for and to prove. But the risks are far too great. Again. Three--technically four--concussions in three years. That's definitely not good.

The smaller story is that the Dolphins are now one down in a highly important season series, and they'll have to go to Buffalo at some point in the season. As for Tua, yes, the Dolphins have a few extra days remaining before their next game, but there is no way in hell he will (or should) start it next week. Honestly, if it were up to me, Tua would be out as long as possible for him to be fully 100%. Sadly, I don't think they'll do that. Tua will probably be out this game and the next, and then we'll see him back after that. I wouldn't rush him like that, but sadly, such is life in the NFL.