In the Dolphins’ Week 16 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered his third suspected concussion in the span of three months. Even though this game was played over a month ago, Tagovailoa still remains in the concussion protocol, per Marcel Louis Jacques.

Prior to this concussion, Tagovailoa suffered a horrifying one in the Dolphins Week 4 matchup with the Bengals. Tagovailoa was thrown to ground roughly while taking a sack, ultimately smacking his head against the ground. This was his first confirmed concussion. However, before this incident, Tagovailoa was struck on the head in Week 3 by Bills linebacker Matt Milano. Despite Tagovailoa showing instability, he remained in the game.

The NFL launched an investigation into the Miami Dolphins organization to check if team doctors followed correct protocol. The NFL deemed that Miami did follow protocols. However, despite their conclusion, the NFLPA fired the unaffiliated team doctor responsible for Tagovailoa’s mid-game check. Though, the NFL did make changes to the leagues concussion protocol, eventually enacting what is called the ‘Tua Rule’.

Before this enactment, if a player was suspected of a concussion, they would be evaluated for concussion-like symptoms, such as confusion, loss of consciousness, headache, pressure, history of concussions, etc. Now, the NFL has added ataxia — poor muscle control— to the list of symptoms to look for.

Furthermore, the inclusion of the ‘Tua Rule’, and the investigation the NFL launched, has expanded the concussion protocol’s timeline. Before, the concussion protocol took roughly a week to clear and gave players a high probability of laying in their next game. Now, if a player enters, they have a high probability of missing their next game and possibly more.

With CTE becoming more of a concern, the NFL must do more than change the protocol for better evaluations. It must to find a way to prevent more head injuries in the future.

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