Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said Wednesday he considered retiring after last season for health reasons.
But, in the offseason he learned how to fall in hoping to avoid head injuries.
The former Crimson Tide signal-caller spoke with reporters in his first news conference since last December.
“Yeah, I think I considered it for a time,” Tagovailoa said of retiring. “Having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and 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, and 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’ve quit a long time ago.”
Tagovailoa was in the NFL’s concussion protocol twice last season and missed four games. However, Tagovailoa said medical officers told him there wasn’t a greater risk for concussions in the future, despite his multiple concussions.
Tagovailoa said he learned how to fall in the off-season with jiu-jitsu classes.
“You think it’s easy — just don’t fall and hit your head — but there’s a lot more to it,” Tagovailoa said. “We used, like, crash pads to land on first with trying to fall. Obviously, tucking your chin — that was one of the deals — but it went a lot more into the technique of how to disperse your energy when you fall.
“It’s actually a lot cooler than you think when you hear of learning how to fall.”
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