Star NFL Quarterback Considered Retirement After Difficult 2022 Season

By Brian Jones

A well-known NFL quarterback came close to retirement last season. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa talked about how the challenges he dealt with during the 2022 season made him think about retiring from the game. 

"Yeah, I think I considered it for a time," Tagovailoa said, per NFL.com. "Having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kind of conversations, but, really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am, with my son — I always dreamed of playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do. It's my health, it's my body, and I feel like this is what's best for me and my family. I love the game of football. If I didn't, I would've quit a long time ago."  

Tagovailoa was placed in the NFL's concussion protocol last year. One notable injury happened during a nationally televised game against the Cincinnati Bengals where he was seen on the ground with his fingers contorted after he was sacked and slung down to the turn by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou. Tagovailoa missed four games in 2022, but the injuries he suffered had people wondering about his future in the league. One reason Tagovailoa decided to play in 2023 was doctors and specialists told him that there's no evidence he's at greater risk for concussions or CTE because he had multiple concussions last year. 

The 25-year-old quarterback told reporters what he has done during the offseason to prevent more concussions from happening. "Obviously, learned how to fall," Tagovailoa said. "Learned some grappling techniques and learned some other things too that I don't think I should disclose. But, for the most part, learn how to fall. You think it's easy — just don't fall and hit your head — but there's a lot more to it. We used, like, crash pads to land on first with trying to fall. Obviously, tucking your chin — that was one of the deals — but it went a lot more into the technique of how to disperse your energy when you fall." Tagovailoa was selected by the Dolphins at No. 5 overall in 2020. In three seasons, Tagovailoa has thrown for 8,015 yards and 52 touchdowns with a 95 passer rating. 

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