Following the Miami Dolphins’ 23-15 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa laughed off any concerns related to a tackle he made following an interception that resulted in the quarterback taking a knee to the helmet.
Tagovailoa spoke with reporters on Wednesday and was once again asked about that moment.
“I would say it didn’t feel as bad as what it probably looked like, may have looked like,” Tagovailoa said, as shared by the Dolphins’ website. “When we watched it, our coach had said that he sort of kneed you in the head. Essentially you’re out there playing football. I didn’t necessarily feel that and I wasn’t just going to jump out of the way for him to just run down the sideline and potentially score. So you’ve got to make decisions and I should have never threw the pick in the first place, so that’s it.”
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel previously noted that he felt Tagovailoa “can’t just think about his ability to stay healthy when he has the ball” despite the 26-year-old’s well-known history of concussions. Most recently, the head injury Tagovailoa suffered on Sept. 12 sidelined him for four games.
Tagovailoa put pen to paper on a four-year, $212.4M deal this past summer. Thus, it makes sense outsiders would believe McDaniel and the Dolphins don’t want to see the QB1 risking his health while becoming a tackler in a one-off situation that occurs during a November game.
“I wouldn’t do anything differently,” a somewhat defiant Tagovailoa said. “I’ll make the tackle, that’s what I’ve got to do. It is what it is. It’s hard to score in this league.”
For better or for worse, Tagovailoa isn’t thinking about retiring or about playing it safe during games to preserve his long-term health. With that said, he acknowledged on Wednesday that he “maybe could do some things differently with tackling” moving forward.
Tagovailoa will look to avoid becoming a tackler when the 3-6 Dolphins host the lowly Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) this Sunday. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Miami as a seven-point favorite for that matchup.