NFL Wouldn’t Have Fired UNC Before Tagovailoa Investigation Concluded

The NFL followed through on its plan to modify concussion protocols Saturday with the announcement of modified guidelines that will go into effect when Week 5 resumes this Sunday.

The landmark news coincided with a statement from the NFL and players association announcing the findings of the now-completed investigation into the Dolphins’ handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion check in Week 3. Less than a week into that investigation, the NFLPA fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in Tagovailoa’s evaluation after it was found the doctor reportedly made “several mistakes,” including a “failure to understand his role as UNC and hostility during the investigation process.” 

However, according to Saturday’s statement, both the NFL and NFLPA determined Miami’s medical staff and the UNC followed the “step-by-step” process of the league’s protocol, but the “outcome” was “not what was intended when the Protocols were drafted” in 2013. 

Shortly after the news broke, NFL executive vice president of communications Jeff Miller and Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer, admitted during a Zoom press conference that the UNC should not have been fired based on the final results of the probe.

“It’s not something we would have done and didn’t. We never supported terminating him,” Miller said, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

“It was extremely unfortunate to make an action prior to review being completed,” added Sills.

When asked if the Tagovailoa would’ve not been allowed to return against Buffalo based on the new guidelines, Sills told reporters, “Yes. It would have ruled him out.”

The NFLPA launched the investigation after Tagovailoa was cleared by team and independent doctors to return against the Bills despite stumbling after hitting his head on the ground following a tackle. He later told reporters the stumble was caused by the aggravation of a previously reported back injury.

Tagovailoa’s injury served as a catalyst for the revised rules amid waves of backlash the Dolphins and NFL received in the days since his first injury. The 24-year-old is currently sidelined after suffering a concussion against the Bengals in a game played four days after his controversial exit against Buffalo. There is currently no timetable for his return.

Per the NFL and NFLPA’s joint statement, players will now be evaluated for “ataxia” as part of the “mandatory no-go” symptoms. If a player shows any signs of ataxia, which is defined as the “abnormality of balance and stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue,” during the concussion protocol, he will not be allowed to return to the game and will “receive the follow-up care” mandated by the new protocol.

According to the investigation’s findings, Tagovailoa “did not report or exhibit any signs or symptoms of concussion during his locker room exam, during the remainder of the game, or throughout the following week.” It was also reported that doctors did relied on an earlier exam instead of examining Tagovailoa’s back during the concussion check.

Sills defended the process that went into Tagovailoa’s examination against the Bills on Saturday, telling reporters there was “absolutely integrity to apply the highest standard of care,” according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.