After Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered his third concussion in three seasons, many have raised concerns about his long-term health and questioned whether he should continue playing in the NFL. Some believe the team—or even the league—should step in to prevent him from playing again this season to protect him.
However, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills explained that the league cannot interfere with a player’s decision regarding their return to the field or potential retirement due to medical reasons. “Patient autonomy and medical decision-making are crucial,” Sills told ESPN. “When it comes to our concussion protocol, it’s essential to respect that autonomy, which comes from discussions between players and medical experts providing the best advice.”
Since there’s no specific formula to assess a player’s risk of injury or re-injury after returning to play, Dr. Sills explained that the NFL’s control over injury management ends once a player clears the league’s concussion protocol. The protocol involves five phases: symptom-limited activity, aerobic exercise, football-specific drills, non-contact practice with the team, and full clearance for football activities. “You can’t just input the number of concussions, the time between them, and a player’s age to calculate risk,” Sills noted.
“We have to consider the overall picture—the number of concussions, the time between them, symptom duration, and most importantly, the player’s input on where they stand in their career, age, and other factors.” Tagovailoa is one of 10 NFL players, and the only quarterback, to have entered the league’s concussion protocol at least three times.
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