After Collision with Tua Tagovailoa, Damar Hamlin Hopes Dolphins QB Has ‘Speedy Recovery’

Perhaps no one on the field during last night’s Thursday Night Football game could empathize more with Tua Tagovailoa than Damar Hamlin, the man whose hit led to the Miami Dolphins quarterback suffering the latest frightening concussion of his career.

“My love and prayers with @Tua fasho..,” Hamlin, 26, posted on X (formerly Twitter) following the game the Dolphins game against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 12. “Sending you strength and healing for a speedy recovery.  much love broski.”

The scary incident took place with just over four seconds left in the third quarter, when Tagovailoa, 26, lowered his head and ran into the Bills safety, who met him in the middle of the field to tackle him. After the collision, the quarterback was then helped off the field.

He was reportedly in “good spirits” following the game, though his teammates and coaches were visibly shaken following the 26-year-old player’s third diagnosed concussion in two years, according to ESPN.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen echoed the predominant sentiment around the stadium after Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s game with another injury, calling the concerning incident “very sad” to see.

“That’s the worst part of the game,” Allen, 28, told reporters, per ESPN. “Nothing but love and prayers sending to him and his family, and hopefully everyone’s sending those, because he’s going to need them. It’s the worst part of the game.”

Per NBC Sports, Allen also said during a postgame interview on Prime Video that he “can’t help but feel for him.” The player added, “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him, and I’m just praying for him and his family and hoping everything is OK.”

Allen was on the sidelines when Hamlin, his teammate since 2021, went into cardiac arrest following a similar open-field hit during a January 2023 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin was stretchered off the field and rushed to the hospital, while the rest of the game was suspended as teammates, fans and coaches feared for the NFL safety’s life.

Hamlin eventually recovered and returned to the NFL the following season.

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Tagovailoa missed five games as a result of two diagnosed concussions he endured throughout the 2022 season.

Most infamously, the Dolphins star’s knees buckled and he struggled to stand after taking a hit to the head against the Bills in a Sept. 2022 game. He was not diagnosed with a concussion following the hit, but became the center of debate over concussion protocols in the NFL when four days later he was left unconscious after the hit during the Bengals game. He was officially diagnosed with a concussion following that hit.

The quarterback sat out two games following that hit, and then suffered another diagnosed concussion during a Dec. 25th game against the Green Bay Packers that season.

Last year, Tagovailoa told reporters he “considered” retirement following the string of concussions he suffered in 2022.

“I considered it for a time, having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kinds of conversations,” he said. “But, really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game. With how old I am; with my son — I always dreamed of playing as long as I could, to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do.”

Tagovailoa added. “It’s my health. It’s my body. I feel like this is what’s best for me and my family. I love the game of football. If I didn’t, I would have quit a long time ago.”

According to the Associated Press, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said there’s no immediate word whether Tagovailoa might return the current 2024-2025 season. In the interim, Sklyar Thompson is being considered as Tagovailoa’s replacement and starting quarterback.