I was unconscious after Bengals concussion

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Tua Tagovailoa said he lost consciousness following the frightening concussion he suffered during the Dolphins’ game against the Bengals last month and that he doesn’t remember much that happened after that.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the third-year quarterback recounted what he does remember from the incident, the result of his head being slammed on the turf during a sack by Cincinnati’s Josh Tupou.

“There was a point I was unconscious,” Tagovailoa said. “I remember the entire night up until the point I got tackled.

“I don’t remember being carted off. I do remember some things from the ambulance and the hospital.”

Tagovailoa has been sidelined since sustaining the blow in Cincinnati on Sept. 29, just four days after he similarly hit his head on the ground after a tackle in a game against the Bills, and was wobbly as he tried to walk. After both Tagovailoa and the Dolphins said he had suffered a back injury, he was eventually allowed to return to that game, and also was cleared to play that Thursday at Cincinnati.

After Tagovailoa was concussed in the Sept. 29 game, the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who had performed the concussion evaluation during the game against the Bills on Sept. 25 was fired by the NFL Players Association, which said “several mistakes” had been made in the assessment of his injury.

Tagovailoa, who cleared concussion protocol last week, is in line to start against the Steelers this Sunday night.

That decision came after the 24-year-old reportedly received four outside opinions, as well as the opinions of Miami team doctors, who unanimously agreed his scans showed no signs of long-term impact on his brain. He also didn’t suffer any setbacks while going through the protocol.

Though Tagovailoa missed two games and only returned to practice a week ago, he did enough to impress coach Mike McDaniel.

“He’s laser focused,” McDaniel said on Wednesday. “He’s in his normal mood, but he doesn’t lose attention span at the task at hand. And that’s what I’ve grown to love about the guy. That’s why he’s been able to have some success in a completely new language and system.

“What you saw was every single play of practice saying the play. After I say it, he’s saying it in the huddle, then watching the timing of the concept, watching the footwork of [backup QB] Skylar [Thompson], getting excited when perfect technique is executed — because he knows exactly what it looks like. … To see that focus last for the entire practice also speaks to the point that it’s not just about him, his selflessness, which is why he has a unique aura of leadership that people gravitate to because it’s genuine, authentic, and real.”

The Dolphins, who started the season 3-0, have struggled mightily without Tagovailoa in the lineup, dropping three straight, which included a 40-17 drubbing at the hands of the Jets. During that span, Miami went from first in the league in points per drive to 28th.

Tagovailoa is also eager to return after what he termed a difficult few weeks.

“A lot of it has been I would say pretty stressful,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday. “But all of it’s done for player safety and I’m glad that I got to go through those things to understand more [of] the deals of concussions and the effects long term, short term, things like that.

“I thought it was great that I was able to go through that process and get cleared.”

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