Friday during his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said that he plans to talk to former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa about his NFL future after his former signal caller suffered another concussion during Thursday Night Football.
"First of all, I will talk to him today. I haven't been able to get a hold of him yet," Saban told host Pat McAfee. "I have a house down there in Florida, so we get together on occasion when I am there. Played golf in the offseason. Tua is such a great competitor, but I think this has to be a medical decision. You have to let medical people who understand the circumstances, these injuries, these concussions, and when you have multiple concussions, that's not a good sign."
Saban mentioned that he believes that Tagovailoa should block out the outside noise from speculators and make the decision based on the medical information he receives from medical professionals.
"I think Tua and his family and everyone else should listen to all the medical evidence to make sure that you're not compromising your future health-wise by continuing to play football," he explained. "But I think that's a medical decision. I don't think that's something for me to speculate on. I know a lot of people are doing it, and more power to them. But the family should not be influenced by that. Tua should not be influenced by that. That should all be influenced by medical professionals."
Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins’ fifth overall pick in 2020, sustained his third NFL concussion during Thursday night’s loss to the Buffalo Bills. In addition to the three concussions suffered in the NFL, Tagovailoa suffered one in 2019 while playing for Alabama against Mississippi State on the same play in which he fractured his hip.
Sometimes being such a tough competitor and never giving up on a play can have negative outcomes.
"This guy is a great competitor, and one thing that he does not know how to do is give up on a play," Saban emphasized. "Even when he hurt his hip at Alabama, it was nowhere to go for the ball. [Henry] Ruggs was the receiver. He fell down. There's nobody to throw it to, and he's still trying to make a play and takes a hit that he doesn't need to take. I hated that he got hurt, and I wished I would have taken him out of the game. Hindsight is always 20/20.
"It's the same thing as the play last night," he continued. "He could have slid. He had a first down. But he's a competitive, tough-minded guy that's trying to set the tone for his team and ends up getting injured because of it."
Tagovailoa had an opportunity to slide after he got the first down, but his competitiveness pushed him to lower his head to grind out a couple of extra yards. As a result, he suffered a concussion that could cause him to retire early.
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