Medical experts, ex-NFL players describe challenges for athletes trying to decide whether to keep playing.
Elizabeth Merrill is a senior writer for ESPN. She previously wrote for The Kansas City Star and The Omaha World-Herald.
"Why do you think we're back here in the same situation two years later?" Bailes said."It's the style of play for him. He stuck his head in there and he's not afraid and he's a great athlete and he wanted to get a few more yards. He stuck his head in there without thinking in that split second.
"The biggest question is, does he need a prolonged period of rest?" Bailes said."That's No. 1, which would mean probably not returning this year. "It's not worth it," Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said."I haven't witnessed anything like I've seen that's happened to him three times. Scary. You can see right away the players' faces on the field. You can see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help."
He broke several ribs in 2021 and was carted off the field. His head-injury issues started in the third game of the 2022 NFL season. In a game against Buffalo, Tagovailoa's head bounced off the ground after he was pushed, and he shook his head as he got up, then stumbled and had to have two teammates prop him up. But Tagovailoa was listed with a back injury, and returned in the second half.
"Sometimes I just hope that he reconsiders thinking about his future," Passas said."Now that he has a boy and a girl and a wife. It's not like high school you can just go home to mommy and dad. ... I just think he has so much more to offer, not only to his family, but the people around him. "We know that hits to the head, getting hit in the head a lot, is not good for you," he said."But if someone's completely back to their baseline in terms of symptoms, then they're more likely to get back toward that green side.
Daneshvar said helmet-sensor studies have shown that on average, a college offensive lineman diagnosed with one concussion probably has experienced more than 300 hits to the head that were the same force or greater than the one that gave him the concussion. All of those hits, he said, are what increase the risk of CTE.
He weighs personal circumstances and the wishes of the family. He weighs the risk-reward benefits, especially with younger people who have smaller bodies. He threw a touchdown on third down at the end of the first half. And that was it. The training staff saw him walking awkwardly, he said, then noticed that his eyes"weren't adjusting." He was pulled into the training room, ruled out for the second half, and began to feel progressively worse in the days that followed.
Doctors would tell him there were risks if he kept playing, but after each concussion, his recovery seemed to take longer and the symptoms were more pronounced. The vision problems this past winter were jarring."When you literally need someone to come pick you up every single day or you have to Uber everywhere ... that alone is a pretty big deal," he said.
"There's definitely a level of sadness. There is absolutely a level of relief. Everyone that goes on the field, at least to some extent, acknowledges the potential significant harm that could come across you. And for most people, that'll never happen, right?" "To me it was part of the game," Raiola said."You can call it ignorance; you can call it what you want. But I guess I was never going to blame the NFL. Or blame concussions."
"There might be a day where I don't know where this thing could go," he said."But I do think you got to take care of yourself. You got to be healthy, you got to be active. You do the things that keep you moving. My kids tease me all the time about lifting weights and I got to get my farmer's walk in every day.
"I'd be lying to you if I didn't say it was scary watching , especially because it's his third one. But man, if he's going to take the necessary steps to make a return, I admire that too."
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