Tua Tagovailoa Clears Concussion Protocol, Shows No Signs Of Long-Term Brain Damage And Will Return In Week 7

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TUAAAAAAAAA!!!!

The Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa and his family and every football fan with any empathetic bone in their body have to feel such relief that he emerged from that scary Thursday night concussion in Week 4 without more severe damage.

Many outsiders believed Tua was concussed the Sunday before that and was allowed to return to the game against Buffalo, raising concerns about second impact syndrome, which can be fatal. Nothing to fuck around with. If there was any silver lining to this whole saga, it's that, at the very least, concussion protocols became stricter and even more thorough than before. One could argue Miami is overcorrecting with its current handling of Teddy Bridgewater, yet you're better safe than sorry given what just happened with Tua.

Beyond the team doctors who cleared him, it's encouraging that Tua sought out external medical counsel to decide when the best time would be for him to return, not to mention to ensure that he's healthy enough to do so. 

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It won't be long now.

While Bridgewater serves as the backup for Week 6, rookie Skylar Thompson will get the start under center for the Fins. What a boost it'd be for Thompson to pick up the win over the 4-1 Vikings. Either way, even if Miami's losing streak extends to three, you can count on the players being hyped for Week 7's showdown with the Steelers at home on Sunday Night Football. It's gonna be awesome seeing Tua in action again. 

And oh yeah, the head coach who constantly shit on Tua, Brian Flores, is now on Pittsburgh's staff. All the more titillating, no? Mike McDaniel has actually put some faith in Tua, put him in position to succeed, and has him ranked third in the NFL with a 109.9 passer rating.

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