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Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion while facing Joe Burrow's Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football, sparking a debate about head injury protocols in the NFL.
The Dolphins quarterback suffered a hit late in the second quarter that left him seemingly frozen with his hands awkwardly in the air. He subsequently left the game and has been ruled out of Sunday's contest against the New York Jets.
What made matters worse was that the Dolphins quarterback had suffered an apparent head injury just days before against the Buffalo Bills, but was still allowed to suit up against Cincinnati.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow spoke with Colin Cowherd on his podcast about concussions and whether or not he thinks there will be an increased emphasis on evaluating players with head injuries.
Burrow said he had never experienced a situation like Tagovailoa's, but revealed that he had sustained head injuries during his high school and college career.
"Stuff like that happens all the time," he said. "I have never had lasting effects from a concussion. I've been hit and forgot the rest of the game. That's happened a couple times. But I've never had one where I've had headaches for a week and symptoms of concussion after a game.
"I've had some where I don't remember the second half, or I don't remember the entire game or I got a little dizzy at one point, but nothing long-lasting."
Burrow does not believe the league can do much if a player hides his symptoms and wants to get back in the game after a hard hit.
He added:
"That’s part of the game I think. Part of what we signed up for. You’re going to have head injuries, you’re going to tear your ACL, you’re going to break your arm. That’s the game we play, that’s the life we live, and we get paid handsomely for it. So, I think going into every game, we know what we are getting ourselves into.”
At the same time, Burrow stressed that head injuries have to be taken seriously and some of the responsibility is on the players to ensure they disclose all the relevant information to the medical staff.
"Someone goes down, you have to take a look at them. I have never experienced a concussion like that, where I'm knocked out. If I do, I'm definitely going to take it very cautiously. I'm going to tell the training staff and get myself out of there."
Joe Burrow's injury history
Joe Burrow knows a thing or two about playing with pain and dealing with injuries. On November 22, 2020, Burrow suffered a gruesome knee injury against Washington.
He suffered an ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus tear after being hit by a Washington defensive lineman.
He also suffered an MCL sprain in the final few minutes of the Super Bowl earlier this year.
Before entering the NFL, Joe Burrow suffered a chest fracture and a wrist fracture during his time at LSU.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Colin Cowherd podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.
