From an outsider's perspective, it's difficult to fathom why Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa would risk returning to football after suffering a third concussion in just under two years. Former DB turned ESPN analyst Louis Riddick did his best to explain why on Friday's episode of "The Jim Rome Show."
"It's hard to walk away from something you invest so much time in — just becomes who you are," Riddick said. "I know people say, 'It's just a sport.' It's not just a sport."
Riddick knows from experience, having played six NFL seasons in the 90s when there wasn't as much emphasis on player safety. Injury-wise, he never faced what Tagovailoa has but didn't leave the game unscathed, needing three-level disc fusion surgery after retiring.
Still, knowing what he knows now, Riddick would do it all over again.
"We are wired that way and sometimes that's hard for people to understand," Riddick said.
Tagovailoa returned to the field after suffering two concussions over a span of three months in 2022, but that was before inking a four-year, $212.4M extension with the Dolphins in July. How being financially secure might impact his decision is uncertain, though it could lessen the blow.
Updates on Tagovailoa's status have been sparse, but according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, he was supposed to spend this week with doctors and remains "determined to continue playing."
Despite the potential consequences, the NFL insider believes the Dolphins QB will ultimately return to the field, barring something drastic.
"Unless somebody is going to step in and block him and shut him down, that's my sense of how this is going to play out," Schefter said.
