Tua Tagovailoa concussion: NFLPA initiating new investigation; NFL says QB didn’t show or report symptoms

Tua Tagovailoa is out indefinitely after suffering at least his second concussion of the 2022 NFL season. Now the NFL Players Association is initiating another investigation into the quarterback’s latest injury, according to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. So why didn’t Tagovailoa exit last Sunday’s loss to the Packers, in which he sustained the hard hit that presumably led to the head injury? The reason is twofold, per Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer: Tagovailoa didn’t display any immediate symptoms, and he didn’t report any to team doctors.

“What our spotters and our unaffiliated neuro doctors are looking for is any blow that transmits force to the head or neck area, followed by that injury behavior,” Sills told NFL Media’s Judy Battista this week. “There are many blows to the head that occur during a game. We are always looking for the blow plus the injury behavior, and obviously if we see any injury behavior, then there’s a call down made to evaluate that player.

“Also, if a player identifies any symptoms or a teammate, coach, official, anyone else identifies symptoms,” Sills continued, “that also initiates a protocol. So many people can initiate the protocol and in this game on Sunday, none of those factors were present. There were no visible signs present, even though there was a blow to the head and the player did not report any symptoms, despite being in contact with the medical staff throughout the game. So, there was nothing that would have triggered the protocol in the moment.”

Tagovailoa, who was hospitalized earlier this season for an additional head injury, played Sunday’s entire game, throwing three second-half interceptions in a 26-20 defeat, despite his head slamming to the ground on a second-quarter hit. The QB reported concussion symptoms to the team a day later, requiring a return to protocol, which must be cleared before a return to game action. It’s not uncommon for players to report symptoms on a delayed basis, Sills added.