John Harbaugh Fears the Worse as Baltimore Ravens QB Suffers Neck Injury.
Coach John Harbaugh of the Ravens commented, “It was unbelievable what I witnessed last night,” in reference to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s head injury sustained on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Four days after Tagovailoa’s horrific head injury in Miami’s last game, the terrifying event sparked a quick and intense discussion concerning the NFL’s concussion regulations.
Harbaugh voiced confidence in the Ravens’ tight handling of head and neck injuries, but he did not examine the details of Tagovailoa’s case.
“It was simply astounding to witness,” he remarked. “I’ve been an NFL and college coach for forty years. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. From the perspective of having to bear in mind two things, I truly admire our general manager, our owner, and our doctors: One of these is that gamers desire to play most of the time. Sometimes it’s best to just say no. Having to say no is the only option. However, there are instances when guys are sound physically but lack confidence. We’ve seen that this year; they’re not quite there yet. This year has seen both of those circumstances. You hold off on releasing them till they’re prepared.
He pointed out that even though Devin Duvernay had not displayed any symptoms when he entered the concussion protocol—a six-step assessment conducted by a team physician and independent neurotrauma consultants—the Ravens kept him out of the starting lineup for the end of their Week 2 defeat to the Dolphins.
Harbaugh stated, “I believe [our doctors] would probably identify as conservatives, but that’s what they should be.” “You don’t want to see the other side of it, which was what happened last night.”
During the first half of Miami’s game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Tagovailoa collided with his head. He started to jog back to the huddle, but stumbled and almost fell. The Dolphins said he was suffering with a back issue rather than a head injury when he came out to the field in the second half.
Four days later, he made his Bengals debut, but in the second quarter, he was tackled to the ground and suffered another head injury. This sparked a terrifying sequence of events that culminated in the immobile Tua being driven off the field and transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center on a stretcher. He was released later that evening in time to catch the team’s flight back to Miami, according to the Dolphins, who also stated that he was still conscious and had movement in all of his extremities.
During Thursday night’s game against the Bengals, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is taken off the field on a stretcher, and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel leaves the scene.
During Thursday night’s game against the Bengals, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is taken off the field on a stretcher, and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel leaves the field.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated in an interview with local media on Friday that Tagovailoa was cleared of “any head injury whatsoever” against Buffalo after consulting with “multiple layers of medical professionals.” Due to back and ankle issues, he was deemed unlikely to play going into the game on Thursday.
“I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I prematurely put someone in danger if there had been anything lingering with his head,” McDaniel remarked. I have a relationship with this person that goes like this. That is something I consider seriously.
There was no schedule provided by McDaniel for Tagovailoa’s comeback.
The 15-year senior defensive tackle for the Ravens, Calais Campbell, who has held leadership roles in the NFL Players Association, described the experience as “scary.” The union has said that it is looking into what caused Tagovailoa to return to the Bills game.
In addition to concussions, Campbell stated, “I think there are a lot of other things that can cause serious issues that we need to evolve on.” “I’m not a medical professional. I’m not sure what Tua’s response was that led him to believe he should feel at ease playing football. However, I am aware that something was off, and based on the appearance, he shouldn’t have been outside. And we definitely need to take a look at it, to figure out how a player who was in a vulnerable scenario was put on the field and put at danger for more catastrophic injuries. That’s not OK. The league needs to investigate that thoroughly.
