Dolphins' Tagovailoa stands by head-first tackle attempt against Rams

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa dropped back to pass Monday and threw the ball toward Jaylen Waddle. Before the receiver could haul in the pass, Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom hopped in front of him for the interception and turned upfield as Tagovailoa and the Dolphins chased him down.

Then Tagovailoa did something that stunned many people watching.

The QB, who has suffered multiple concussions in his NFL career, lowered his body and made a headfirst tackle. Part of Rozeboom's leg hit Tagovailoa's head.

“I would say it didn't feel as bad as what it may have looked like," Tagovailoa said Wednesday. "Essentially you’re out there playing football. I didn’t necessarily feel that (hit). I wasn’t just going to jump out of the way for him to just run down the sideline and potentially score. You’ve got to make decisions, and I should have never threw the pick in the first place.”

He also said he wouldn't do anything differently after watching the play, though coach Mike McDaniel noted earlier in the day that the quarterback did see on film how he “was a little vulnerable.”

“I think when you’re carrying the ball and you think that you’re protecting yourself, you also know willfully that you’re trying to run somebody over, be physical,” McDaniel said. "I think Tua has a deep understanding of the ramifications of him being irresponsible with the ball in his hands.

“In my opinion, Tua’s reaction to the tackle was probably different when he watched it on film than what he was thinking was occurring live speed.”

Tagovailoa never came out of the game, but the play was quickly spread around social media, mostly because of Tagovailoa's history with scary head injuries. It was his third game back since going on injured reserve with his third diagnosed concussion in two years.

Tagovailoa got hurt when he collided with Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin on Sept. 12. He ran for a first down and initiated contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding, which prompted his teammates to have talks with him about protecting himself moving forward.

"We’ve been talking to him ever since his injury,” running back Raheem Mostert said last month. “I’ve been telling him, ‘Hey, you need to work on sliding.’ And we all joke around and laugh, but on a serious note, he knows that he has to protect himself a little bit better.”

Tagovailoa also was diagnosed with two concussions in 2022 and suffered another scary hit to the head that led to changes in the NFL’s concussion rules.

He has said he doesn't want to be the face of traumatic brain injuries in the NFL, but knows that's part of his reality after his injuries have sparked widespread discourse.

McDaniel said Wednesday he has had many discussions with Tagovailoa, who has explained what this recent concussion taught him.

“He’s talked to me at length about how eye-opening being out this season (was),” McDaniel said, “and watching the effect of that on the organization. He does not take it lightly.”

“I don’t think he was disregarding his body in a stubborn manner,” McDaniel said. “I think he had a situation occur where he thought he was protecting himself. ... I’d expect him to make the adjustments, as he’s made all sorts of different adjustments in his game that aren’t strictly just how he protects himself but how he plays.”

Tagovailoa said there's a balance in protecting himself with so many moving parts during a game.

“Instinctually as you’ve grown up playing football — if you played football at a young age — you revert back to what you know," he said. "It’s also the happy medium between that. You can’t just be thinking about anything else when you’re playing. The game’s too fast and too hard to be thinking about anything else.”

Notes: Miami claimed tight end Jack Stoll off waivers from Philadelphia and waived linebacker David Long Jr. Long was a captain at the start of the year but struggled this season in pass coverage. He went from a starter to being benched, and only took special team snaps the past two games.