"We play a dangerous game, man," receiver Jaylen Waddle said Monday with a shoulder shrug response when asked about what Tagovailoa, whom he has been friends with since their University of Alabama days together, was going through. "I think that the whole world gets to see how dangerous this game is, and how everybody puts their body on the line week in and week out."
The NFL can't afford to see another fencing hand response from its Pro Bowl quarterback, two years after he collapsed from his feet following a hit from the Buffalo Bills, in a September 2022 game. He returned to finish, then had the nation witness him get carted off the field after he was allowed to skirt the rules - claiming it was a back injury - so he could play in a Thursday night game against Cincinnati four days later.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was in attendance for Thursday night's embarrassing loss to the Bills, so like the millions watching on TV, he witnessed Tagovailoa crumble to the field after colliding with Damar Hamlin, who coincidentally had to be resuscitated on the field two years ago after he stopped breathing during a game after making a tackle.
The NFL's job is to protect the game, ensuring it has a healthy future, and that means this gladiator sport, which has a 100 percent injury rate, needs an ample workforce.
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