Tua Tagovailoa Considered Retirement, Will Continue Career Despite Injury Concerns
2022-23 was certainly an eventful season for former Alabama and current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa took big strides in his third season in the NFL. Once a candidate for MVP, Tagovailoa threw for 3,548 yards and 25 touchdowns in 13 games — and led Miami to the playoffs for just the third time since 2001.
While there was plenty of good, there was also plenty of bad.
Tagovailoa suffered two separate concussions last year — a story that made headlines for how the organization handled his injuries.
Many people believed and some hoped that Tagovailoa would retire from the NFL in order to better protect his body — but he's not ready to hang up the cleats just yet.
"I think I considered it for a time," Tagovailoa said. "Having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife, having those kind of conversations. 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."
"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]."
The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa's fifth-year option on March 20, meaning he will be in Miami through at least the 2024 season.
"We have all the faith in the world in [Tagovailoa]," Dolphins assistant GM Marvin Allen said. "We feel he's the quarterback that's going to get us to where we want to go."