MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Nick Saban has a message for : Listen to experts, then decide what happens next.
Antonio Pierce had another message: It's time to retire.
Saban, Pierce and countless others within the game were speaking out Friday about Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback who is now dealing with the third confirmed concussion of his NFL career 鈥� all coming within the last 24 months. He was hurt in the third quarter of the to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night, leaving the game after a scary and
鈥淭his has to be a medical decision,鈥� Saban said on ESPN, where the now-retired coach works as an analyst. 鈥淚 mean, you have to let medical people who understand the circumstances around these injuries, these concussions 鈥� and when you have multiple concussions, that's not a good sign.
"I think Tua and his family and everyone else should listen to all the medical evidence to make sure you're not compromising your future health-wise by continuing to play football.鈥�
That process 鈥� gathering the medical facts 鈥� was getting underway in earnest on Friday, when Tagovailoa was set to be further evaluated at the team's facility. He was diagnosed with a concussion within minutes of sustaining the injury on Thursday and there is no timetable for his return.
鈥淚'll be honest: I'd just tell him to retire," Pierce, the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, said Friday. 鈥淚t's not worth it. It's not worth it to play the game. I haven't witnessed anything like I've seen that's happened to him three times. Scary. You could see right away, the players' faces on the field, you could see the sense of urgency from everybody to get Tua help. He's going to live longer than he's going to play football. Take care of your family.鈥�
Concern 鈥� and opinions 鈥� have poured in from all across the football world ever since Tagovailoa got hurt. It is not a surprising topic 鈥� the questions of 鈥渟hould he? or shouldn't he?鈥� continue to play 鈥� nor is this the first time they have been asked. Tagovailoa himself said in April 2023 that he and his family weighed their options after he was diagnosed twice with concussions in the 2022 season.
But Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said it's not his place, nor is it the time, to have discussions about whether Tagovailoa should play again.
鈥淭hose types of conversations, when you鈥檙e talking about somebody鈥檚 career, it probably is only fair that their career should be decided by them,鈥� McDaniel said.
The Dolphins said Friday that they will and for now are entrusting the starting job to Skylar Thompson. McDaniel said the team will not rush to any other judgments, that the only opinions that truly matter right now come from two sides 鈥� Tagovailoa and his family, and the medical experts who will monitor his recovery.
鈥淭he thing about it is everybody wants to play, and they love this game so much, and they give so much to it that when things like this happen, reality kind of hits a little bit,鈥� Jacksonville coach Doug Pedersen said Friday. "It just shows the human nature, or the human side of our sport.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.
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Tim Reynolds And Alanis Thames, The Associated Press
