Tua Tagovailoa could return Sunday for Dolphins after medical experts clear him to play

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa does not want to be the face of traumatic brain injuries in the NFL, but he knows that's the reality confronting him after his latest concussion.

Speaking with reporters Monday for the first time since being diagnosed with the third concussion of his NFL career, the Dolphins quarterback said he was frustrated by having to sit on the sideline for the past four games, and he was just as aggravated about having to answer questions about his health for the second time in two years.

“Do I want to be known for this? No, I don’t,” Tagovailoa said. “But that’s the cards I’ve been dealt with given the history of it. So it is what it is.”

Tagovailoa said he would not wear a Guardian cap, which is a protective soft-shell helmet cover that some players have started wearing during games. His teammate, De’Von Achane, wore one on Sunday after being concussed in Week 5.

Tagovailoa has been cleared by medical experts to play football again after he collided with Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin in Week 2 when he ran for a first down and then initiated the contact by lowering his shoulder into Hamlin instead of sliding.

He still technically needs to be cleared from the NFL's concussion protocol before he returns, which could come after he practices on Wednesday. If everything goes well, coach Mike McDaniel said, the plan is for Tagovailoa to start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

“Following the directive and opinion of medical experts, the reason why he’s coming back now is because the medical experts have deemed it safe for him to return," McDaniel said. "I don’t mess with timelines or try to overcook the forecast. You lean on experts for matters of the career, and that’s what we’re doing here.”

Tagovailoa wound up on his back with both hands in the air after the hit against Buffalo on Sept. 12, which happened in the third quarter. Players from both teams immediately waved trainers over and pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. While down, Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand — a movement consistent with what's referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.

Tagovailoa said he has not experienced any symptoms since the next day, but he was placed on injured reserve five days later.

When asked if he felt he should have been placed on IR, Tagovailoa said he felt the team “did what was best” for him.

“What I do know is I think the team did what was best in the interest of me, knowing that I’m a competitor,” Tagovailoa said. “Given what the doctors have told me, that having a substantial amount of time to rest and recover would have been good for me. I think they did what was best in terms of protecting myself, you know, from myself."

He has a history of head injuries since entering the NFL, having been diagnosed with two concussions in 2022 and suffering another scary hit to the head that season, which led to changes in the NFL’s concussion rules.

Tagovailoa has traveled across the country over the past month meeting with numerous medical experts, who he and McDaniel said deemed it safe for him to play football again. He was not told he would be at increased long-term risk if he resumed his career.

Football fans, coaches and media personalities have shared their own opinions on what Tagovailoa should do next.

“I’ll be honest: I’d just tell him to retire,” said Antonio Pierce, coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. “It’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."

McDaniel has cautioned against speculating on Tagovailoa's health and future since the concussion happened. Tagovailoa, while expressing his appreciation for the concern, said he never considered retirement this time around, despite having those conversations with family members two years ago.

“I just think this is only becoming a thing just because of what ended up happening two years ago for myself within the sport,” he said. “I hate that it’s happened, but we don’t look at boxers the same way. We don’t look at hockey players the same way.”

McDaniel said Tagovailoa has a better understanding of his responsibility to the Dolphins organization, which signed him to a four-year, $212 million contract extension in the offseason.

“Part of that is protecting yourself,” McDaniel said. “Part of that — I've got to make sure he's properly protected, but at the same time, I can't control everything. And he has to be able to protect himself.”

Tagovailoa added that he needs to “be smart” on the field to make sure he stays available for the team.

He added that there's risk in everything.

“Every time we all suit up, we’re all taking a risk that we could potentially get hurt, whether it’s a concussion, a broken bone, anything,” Tagovailoa said. “You get up off of the bed the wrong way, you potentially could risk spraining your ankle. But there’s just risk in any and everything. And I’m willing to play the odds.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel speaks during a news conference, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, at the Dolphins training facility in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa smiles as he takes questions during a news conference, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, at the Dolphins training facility in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa speaks during an NFL football news conference, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, at the Dolphins training facility in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Tua Tagovailoa could return Sunday for Dolphins after medical experts clear him to play

Tua Tagovailoa could return Sunday for Dolphins after medical experts clear him to play

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa talks on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The metal gangway where dozens of people waited to board a ferry boat made a loud, creaking noise before snapping in the middle amid panicked cries from those sent plunging into the water. Some clung desperately to the railing, while others began to float away with the tidal current.

“There was no time for anyone to get off,” said Icy White, who watched from about 30 feet away at the ferry dock on Sapelo Island. “It took seconds.”

White’s family was among hundreds visiting the isolated Georgia barrier island Saturday for a fall festival spotlighting the history and culture of its tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants. The celebration gave way to tragedy when the gangway collapsed, sending seven visitors to their deaths.

White of Atlanta recorded video of the immediate aftermath on her cellphone and shared it with The Associated Press. It shows tourists and island residents jumping into action to rescue imperiled strangers and render aid to the injured in a remote location with few trained first responders initially on-site.

“There was no EMS that was there,” said Darrel Jenkins, White’s cousin. “We were the EMS.”

Largely unspoiled Sapelo Island, most of which is owned the state of Georgia, has no roads or bridges connecting it to the mainland. Residents and visitors typically rely on ferries operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to make the 7-mile (11-kilometer) trip.

Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon told a news conference Sunday an estimated 700 visitors showed up for the Cultural Day event hosted by residents of Hogg Hummock, a tiny enclave founded after the Civil War by slaves who had worked the island plantation of Thomas Spalding.

Rabon said his agency had 40 staff members working on the island during one of its busiest days of the year. The U.S. Coast Guard and local sheriff's and fire departments later joined search and rescue efforts with boats and helicopters. But Rabon praised civilian bystanders for their efforts immediately after the collapse sent about 20 people into the water.

“Their quick response and action saved additional lives,” Rabon said.

White's video shows people clinging to metal railing on the broken gangway, dangling at a steep angle into the water. Some holding on at the bottom are partly submerged, while those closer to the top extend hands trying to reach and pull them up. Others pass orange life preservers to those at the bottom.

At least a dozen people floating in the water can be seen drifting away from the dock, pulled by a strong tidal current that threatened to drag them out to sea. Still recording on her phone, White runs into a dockside parking lot shouting for others to come help.

“Who can help? Who can swim? Please, help! Help! Help!" she calls out. "The bridge fell! It fell! Please help! People are in the water!”

Another video clip shows volunteers attempting to comfort a crying woman with a broken leg at the water's edge. A few feet away, a man in latex gloves kneels performing chest compressions on someone sprawled on the ground, a muddy mix of rocks and shells.

Other footage shows volunteers using a blanket to form a makeshift stretcher for an injured woman, then carrying her toward a boat for evacuation.

The seven people killed were all seniors, ranging in age from 73 to 93, according to McIntosh County Coroner Melvin Amerson.

Officials said none of them lived on the island, and Hogg Hummock resident Reginald Hall said none of them appeared to be islanders' family members.

They included Charles L. Houston, 77, of nearby Darien, a chaplain for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Also killed were William Johnson Jr., 73, and Queen Welch, 76, both of Atlanta. The remaining four were from Jacksonville, Florida: Crews Carter, 75; Cynthia Gibbs, 74; Carlotta McIntosh, 93; Isaiah Thomas, 79.

The broken gangway was removed from the dock and taken to what the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on Monday called a “secured facility.”

An investigative team with expertise in accident reconstruction and engineering was assigned to determine what caused the collapse that Rabon, the Natural Resources commissioner, referred to Sunday as a “catastrophic failure.”

Rabon's agency operates the Sapelo Island ferries and dock, which was rebuilt in 2021. The agency said the gangway was last inspected in December 2023 with no concerns identified.

Rabon told reporters about 40 people were standing on the gangway waiting to board a ferry when it collapsed in the middle.

Hogg Hummock is among a shrinking cluster of small Southern communities descended from enslaved island populations known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia. Scholars say residents retain much of their African heritage — including a unique dialect and skills such as cast-net fishing and basket weaving — because of their separation from the mainland.

Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

But the community’s population has been shrinking for decades, and some families have sold their land to outsiders for vacation homes. Last year, county commissioners approved zoning changes that doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock. That raised fears among residents that larger homes could spur tax increases that could force them to sell land their families have held for generations.

Wagster Pettus reported from Jackson, Mississippi.

A portion of the gangway which collapsed Saturday afternoon remains visible on Sapelo Island in McIntosh county, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)

Georgia Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Walter Rabon addresses the media at the Sapelo island visitors center, alongside Georgia State Rep. Buddy DeLoach, Rep. Al Williams, Ga House Speaker Jon Burns and McIntosh Sheriffs Stephen Jesup Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Captain Chris Hodge speaks during a news conference after a gangway collapse on Sapelo Island, Ga in McIntosh county, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine)

A hearse heads to Meridian Dock in McIntosh county where several people after a gangway collapsed plunging them into the water, on Sapelo Island, Ga in McIntosh county, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine)

A portion of the gangway which collapsed Saturday afternoon remains visible on Sapelo Island in McIntosh county, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)

FILE - The sun rises over Sapelo Island, Ga., a Gullah-Geechee community, on June 10, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Festival goers who attended a Gullah Geechee festival on Sapelo Island leave the Elm Grove Church where they were taken to reunite with loved ones on Sapelo Island, Ga in McIntosh county, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis M. Levine)

A portion of the gangway which collapsed Saturday afternoon remains visible on Sapelo Island in McIntosh county, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine)