Thursday Night Football Injuries: Tua Tagovailoa A Trend, Not Coincidence

"How many players need stretchered off before there's a change?"

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Thursday Night Football injuries aren’t happenstance; they’re a trend. The National Football League (NFL) is taking a huge risk when continuing midweek football games without making some changes (e.g. second bye week). The latest and possibly most dangerous incident happened when Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion on the September 29, 2022 edition of Thursday Night Football.

This injury occurred four days after he reportedly suffered a back injury from a hard hit on a play against the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa was never placed into the concussion protocol because, despite stumbling and falling over, the medical team declared that his injuries weren’t related to head trauma. They insist that this transpired because of an injured back and ankle.

Tua Tagovailoa Situation

Tagovailoa went into a “fencing” position where his hands locked up because of a brain injury that, according to concussion expert and former WWE wrestler Chris Nowinski, could have lifelong consequences. Tagovailoa was stretchered off and sent to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He was allowed to travel home with the team.

Can’t Trust Players with Concussion Symptoms

Athletes aren’t always forthright about injuries. They could fear that a medical diagnosis would highlight a condition that’s worse than anticipated, they’ll get Drew Bledsoe‘d, suffer financial implications, earn negative labels (e.g. lacks toughness, weak), or they’ll disappoint their teammates. Potentially, these fears combine for a less lucrative lifestyle or a damaged legacy.

It’s hard for a professional athlete to evaluate their injuries because it requires that they shift from their “Just Do It” mentality. En route to a professional sports journey, athletes spend their entire childhoods and early adulthood silencing critics. They must reject self-doubt as they develop a skill-set that lets them reach the pinnacle of their profession. They see it as another obstacle that prevents them from their ultimate goals. This increases the probability that they’ll either ignore or deny the severity of their symptoms.

There’s also the reality that they don’t realize that they’re concussed. The NFL asks a lot of the players. In return, the league MUST protect the players from themselves.

Tua’s Injury Relates to other Thursday Night Football Injuries

I’m not getting into much detail or arguing about Tagovailoa’s specific situation because hundreds of journalists and thousands of fans have done that. What I’d like to do is emphasize this long trend of Thursday Night Football injuries. Don’t mistake what happened here as a random event; serious injuries are becoming a common re-occurrence that jeopardizes the career and lives of professional athletes.

Viewer Discretion is Advised! The events of these videos are unsettling.

Thursday Night Football Injuries: Five of the Worst

Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers: December 16, 2021 (Donald Parham Jr.)

The Chargers and Chiefs played in one of 2021’s most exciting contests when the Chiefs pulled off a 34-28 overtime win against their divisional rival. This game also featured a terrifying injury response after tight end Donald Parham Jr. hit his head on the back of the turf. Parham goes into a fencing response where FOX showed a closeup of his face with an open mouth and closed eyes. He was eventually stretchered off but declared stable before the game had ended.

As of Week 4 in 2022, Parham has yet to play in a game. He remains with a “questionable” injury designation because of an August hamstring injury.

New York Giants at Washington Football Team: September 16, 2021 (Nick Gates)

New York Giants offensive lineman Nick Gates didn’t suffer a head injury; however, a fractured lower left leg nearly ended his career. This occurred just one week after he was nominated as a team captain. More than a year removed from the injury, there is positive news about a comeback attempt.

Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers: September 26, 2019 (Jamaal Williams)

As an avid Green Bay Packers follower, this Jamaal Williams injury worried me. He was released from the hospital the following day and returned for an October 14th game against the Detroit Lions. He put on a show for the Packers faithful as he had 14 carries for 104 yards and four receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown in a 23-22 win.

As of 2022, Williams is Detroit’s No. 2 running back. He’ll enter Week 4 with a starting role in an explosive offense since starter D’Andre Swift is out with a shoulder injury.

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals: November 9, 2017 (Richard Sherman)

Former Super Bowl champion cornerback Richard Sherman is an outspoken personality who’s a near certainty for the Hall of Fame. He reminds me of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Both players aren’t afraid to speak their minds on controversial topics that affect them and their colleagues.

Sherman was one of the first players who spoke out against Thursday Night Football. You can read his thoughts here. If you don’t want to read it, then the summary of his argument is from his following quote:

The NFL preaches player safety. The league says it wants to do everything in its power to protect its players. But when it comes down to it, it’s not the players that the NFL protects. It’s The Shield.

Richard Sherman, Why I Hate Thursday Night Football, The Players’ Tribune

Sherman spoke out nearly one year before he got a personal experience with the Thursday Night Football injuries epidemic. His season—and Seattle Seahawks career—ended when he ruptured an already injured Achilles’ tendon. Eventually, Sherman continued his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He helped lead them to a Super Bowl appearance.

Houston Texans at New England Patriots: September 22, 2016 (J.J. Watt)

Do you notice that many of these injuries are during the earliest parts of the season? The athletes haven’t even had time to adjust to the weekly physicality with five to seven recovery days. How does the NFL expect them to adjust to three days?

Former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had just come off an offseason where he had a July surgery for a herniated disk. A September Thursday Night Football game forced the then-three time defensive most valuable player (MVP) into a season-ending surgery. For the rest of that year, fans were denied the opportunity to see one of the greatest defensive players of the 2010s.

Those Are Just a Few of the Biggest Thursday Night Football Injuries…

I’m okay with Thursday Night Football as long as there’s a bye week before each matchup. Why not put the players in a position where they’ve had 10 recovery days instead of three? This creates a safer environment that gives the doctors more time to diagnose injuries, players more time to heal, and the fans a better product with healthier rosters.

A few adjustments could turn these Thursday Night Football telecasts into the safest and cleanest games of the week. Instead, the NFL forces half-rested players who’ve had half the weekly preparation for the upcoming matchup.

A second bye week has become an even greater necessity with the addition of the 17th game. It’ll become more important when there’s an 18th game. When the NFL expands to 18 games, theoretically, an NFL team could go Week 1-19 and three playoff games with just one recovery week before Super Bowl week. The NFL can’t preach safety if teams are basically playing professional football during every week for half-a-year.

How many players need stretchered off before there’s a change? The NFL would eventually need a second bye week no matter what so get on with it. Another bye week means another broadcasting week to replace a preseason week.

As an NFL fan, I shouldn’t have to watch Thursday Night Football games where I’m more concerned about the players coming out healthy—or even alive—than my team winning or a memorable performance.

How Would You Fix Thursday Night Football? Comment Below or Tweet!

Joshua Huffman provides Tennessee Titans and broad sports coverage for SoBros Network. His content has been published on websites including Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized. His personal blog, Armchair Prudence, offers sports editorials and a gambling diary that should help new DraftKings / FanDuel / MGM bettors.

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