Mike McDaniel doesn’t want people to speculate about Tua Tagovailoa’s retirement after his recent concussion

Mike McDaniel didn’t want to pressure Tua Tagovailoa for retirement after his third concussion—instead wants to focus on his health.

Mike McDaniel doesn’t want people to speculate about Tua Tagovailoa’s retirement after his recent concussion

Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel (Via Imago)

Despite being just 26 years old, Tua Tagovailoa is highly suggested to start considering retirement after he sustained the third confirmed concussion of his NFL career. Following the victory in the season-opener, the Miami Dolphins suffered a bizarre loss in Week 2 at the hands of Buffalo Bills. However, what made the headlines was the former team’s quarterback’s head injury, which resulted in a concussion. 

While the signal-caller is recovering from his concussion, he is being advised to retire because of the alarming number of concussions in his career which may lead to CTE. However, head coach Mike McDaniel refused to think of such a haunting idea but at the same time, he didn’t want to pressure Tagovailoa for retirement.

[You're] talking about his career, right? His career is his. I just really, really, really wish… that people would for a second hear what I'm saying: that bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him. So, I'm gonna plead with everybody that does genuinely care: That should be the last thing on your mind.
Mike McDaniel said

McDaniel claimed that he is focusing on his quarterback getting healthy and assessing if he could get back on the football field, rather than viewing this subject from a “football standpoint.” He believes an athlete’s career shouldn’t be discussed on such a level as it should be entirely his decision to take any step.

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Mike McDaniel prioritizes Tua Tagovailoa’s health over career speculation

While talking on the subject, the Dolphins’ HC also didn’t gave any timeline on the ongoing retirement speculations about Tagovailoa, assuming it would pressurize him unnecessarily. Having said that, McDaniel believed thinking of the worst-case scenario because of these concussions (CTE) would only make the quarterback more anxious. 

All the science behinds concussions tells you how delicate the time is right after an injury and how important it is that you don't institute extra sources of anxiety. So, from my vantage point, I feel it's supremely important that ... I'm not giving off any sort of vibes. I'm not trying to even look at, well, how serious is this relative to his past ones?
Mike McDaniel told reporters on Friday
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and HC Mike McDaniel
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and HC Mike McDaniel (Image via Imago)

What’s important for McDaniel is the health of his star quarterback—who recently became one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league, and not give him suggestions about his career. He also acknowledged the reasons why such questions concerning the health of the quarterback are being swirled around, but he believes it’s futile to ask these questions when he is in the concussion protocol.