Concussion in the NFL is abet in the spotlight after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered one other head shatter on Thursday.
After two concussions in 2022, he stayed fit final season and led Miami into the play-offs to develop a brand current long-term contract.
Nevertheless the 26-year-dilapidated from Hawaii suffered one other concussion final week – his third in lower than two years and fourth overall, alongside with his college career.
Many pundits and ex-gamers are now calling for him to retire – and some maintain even acknowledged the NFL must take the probability out of his hands.
So what questions must the league solution as it faces losing one in every of its franchise quarterbacks on the height of his powers?
May perchance well perchance perchance also peaceful Tagovailoa retire?
Tagovailoa will now be assessed below the NFL’s return-to-participation protocol, a 5-step direction of gamers must clear before returning to action.
They’re assessed by a team physician and an fair neurological consultant (INC), who will moreover think the participant’s previous exposures and medical historic previous.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel acknowledged the timeline for Tagovailoa’s probably return is “the furthest thing from my thoughts” as he is “caring about the human being”. Nevertheless as soon as the participant is handed fit, this also can then be his possibility whether or to no longer keep himself abet in injure’s methodology.
Tagovailoa admitted contemplating retirement after the 2 concussions in 2022. At that time, he turned into as soon as peaceful on a rookie contract price $30m (£22.9m). On the opposite hand, he has since signed a four-year deal price $212m (£161m).
Fellow quarterback Andrew Luck is basically the most high-profile instance of a participant who retired early for the sake of his health – aged 29 in 2019.
Over the final 10 years, Jordan Reed (30), Luke Kuechly (28), AJ Tarpley (23), Ali Marpet (28) and Chris Borland (24) maintain moreover stopped taking part in on account of extra than one concussions or concerns over the long-term impact of head traumas.
Tagovailoa, though, has a miles extra lucrative contract at stake.
What number of concussions are too many?
The NFL addressed that inquire of as we mumble in 2015, with a neuropsychologist asserting merely “we do no longer know”, as there is rarely any definitive recordsdata.
The in style thought is that three concussions can maintain an enduring impact. That would also properly stem from a 1952 glimpse that advised gamers “must never be uncovered to extra body-contact trauma” after three concussions.
A 2023 glimpse, led by groups on the College of Oxford and College of Exeter, supported that advice as it revealed those that had three or extra concussions “had vastly worse cognitive arrangement”.
The neuropsychologist writing for the NFL in 2015 cautioned in opposition to the use of a ‘three-concussion coverage’ – or any explicit limit – as it may perhaps discourage athletes from reporting signs.
That is why fair personnel are now part of the protocol and they can living off it at any time when they private a concussion.
Nevertheless does the NFL now want to revisit the inquire of it turned into as soon as unable to acknowledge to in 2015?
Is the NFL doing ample to forestall concussions?
In December 2009, the NFL acknowledged for the first time that concussions can maintain long-term consequences.
After reaching a settlement price $1bn (£665m) in 2015 to compensate ragged gamers, the NFL pledged to spend $100m (£75m) on medical and engineering learn in 2016.
That has included several innovation challenges, where grant funding has been awarded to companies and institutions for learn into expertise which improves participant security, alongside with Cardiff College.
The inaugural winners in 2017 were Guardian Improvements, who maintain developed Guardian Caps – padded, soft shell covers which fit over a participant’s helmet and are confirmed to chop the impact of head collisions.
After being mandated for use in pre-season put collectively two years in the past, the caps are now allowed to be light in in style season video games for the first time.
Region-explicit helmets maintain moreover been developed, as head impacts are varied for gamers in varied positions, and the NFL has on a in style foundation tweaked the sport’s guidelines.
This season the kick-off guidelines had been changed one more time to chop the agonize of high-urge collisions on kick returns after recordsdata confirmed a disproportionate preference of concussions on those performs.
What helmet turned into as soon as Tagovailoa carrying?
Since 2022, the preference of concussions among gamers carrying the caps has fallen by practically about 50%.
On the opposite hand, from 2020, the final across every season has elevated every year. The latest recordsdata shows there had been 219 cases final season after 213 in 2022.
Talking to BBC Sport final year, the NFL’s chief medical officer Dr Allen Sills attributed the amplify partly to broadening the concussion protocol and extra assessments being implemented.
To serve fight the persevered upward push, the NFL checks helmets every year and publishes the results in a rating poster.
Twelve current devices will probably be found this season – 5 of which will probably be essentially the most easy rated ever – whereas six older devices are now prohibited. There is moreover extra space-explicit helmets accessible than ever before, with eight being introduced.
And no topic the revenue brought by the caps, the NFL has acknowledged six helmets provide “as unheard of – if no longer extra – security than a special helmet mannequin paired with a Guardian Cap”.
Tagovailoa switched to a quarterback-explicit helmet when they turned into accessible final year. He turned into as soon as no longer carrying a cap on Thursday and it’s a ways rarely known which helmet he turned into as soon as carrying.
Nevertheless if it turned into as soon as a form of six devices, and he turned into as soon as peaceful concussed, the NFL must inquire of what extra it goes to carry out to forestall one in every of its most fun skills having to retire in his prime.
