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No player in the NFL had quite as wild a 2022 season as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
On one hand, Tagovailoa broke out early in the season and established himself as one of the league’s top quarterbacks under new head coach Mike McDaniel.
The trio of Tagovailoa, newly acquired superstar Tyreek Hill and breakout star Jaylen Waddle helped transform the Dolphins’ offense into one of the most dangerous in the league.
But then things got difficult.
Tagovailoa was concussed in a game against AFC East rival Buffalo. But doctors still allowed him to return to the game. That decision turned scary when he was concussed yet again just days later against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tagovailoa needed to be carted off the field following that hit and was taken to a local hospital.
The seconds concussion kept him out three weeks. When he returned he yet again looked like a budding star. That is, until a third concussion against the Green Bay Packers ended his season.
Now Tagovailoa’s future is unclear. But the former Alabama Crimson Tide star isn’t dwelling on the past. In fact, according to his comments to Hal Habib of The Palm Beach Post, Tagovailoa is feeling great.
“How do I feel now compared to a year ago? I’m smiling a lot more,” Tagovailoa told Habib. “So I would say good.
“Offseason training has been good,” he said. “Been working on strength in many areas and been chapping away at things that I felt like I needed to work on to get to where I feel like I can get to in the later parts of the season.”
While it’s good to see Tagovailoa returning to the field, it’s even better to see him well off mentally. Concussions are dangerous thing and three in a short span often portends bad things.
Here’s hoping he can return to play and remain healthy going forward.