Tua Tagovailoa Considered Retiring, 'Learned How To Fall' Instead

Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa admitted Wednesday for the first time that he considered retiring after last season.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the Dolphins lost to the Packers on Christmas Day -- a game in which Tua threw three interceptions and was later diagnosed with another concussion -- Tagovailoa said the thought crossed his mind briefly "for a time."

“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 a could to the point where my son knew what he’s watching," he added.

Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa is now a white belt in jiu-jitsu

It was an absolute ROLLERCOASTER 2022 for Tagovailoa, who first made headlines last September when he was carted off the field and to a local hospital after suffering a hit to the head against the Cincinnati Bengals.

That hit came just days after Tua left a game against the Bills in the first half with what appeared to be a head injury, only to return in the third quarter and lead Miami to a win.

Tagovailoa and the Dolphins maintain that injury was not a concussion, and instead a back injury.

Tagovailoa returned two games later and led the Dolphins on a five-game winning streak throughout the month of November, playing MVP-caliber football along the way. He suffered another concussion again Green Bay and missed the rest of the season, including Miami's playoff loss in Buffalo.

The Dolphins picked up Tagovailoa's fifth-year option last month, guaranteeing him more than $23 million in 2024. He was fully cleared to return to football activities in February, and was on hand for the Dolphins' first day of offseason workouts this week.

Perhaps most importantly, the former Alabama QB is also taking jiu-jitsu this spring in the hopes of learning how to fall better.

Unfortunately, he's still a white belt. That being said, Tua DOES know how to fall now.

Dolphins are about to be LIT this season.

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Zach grew up in Florida, lives in Florida, and will never leave Florida ... for obvious reasons. He's a reigning fantasy football league champion, knows everything there is to know about NASCAR, and once passed out (briefly!) during a lap around Daytona. He swears they were going 200 mph even though they clearly were not.