I’ve never had as much fun watching a football game as I did when Tua Tagovailoa was quarterback for Alabama. The sheer joy of watching him enter the game as a freshman backup to Jalen Hurts in 2017, knowing that the impossible could be done. The five-star out of Ewa Beach was the next evolution in the Crimson Tide death machine; a program that had long won on defense and running the football finally had a modern-day quarterback who could deliver.

Alabama fans, long mocked by former head coach Nick Saban for leaving blowouts early, were afraid to leave their seats early in 2017 for fear of missing a glimpse into the program’s future. Whether it was his spin and strikeout against Vanderbilt or Gary Danielson’s audible cackle after throwing a touchdown against Tennessee, Tua was a must-see on TV from the moment he first stepped onto the field in an Alabama uniform.

He provided the most legendary moment in Alabama football history when he came on as a substitute in the national championship game against Georgia, led the Tide back from a 13-0 halftime deficit and then threw a walk-off touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith to win a natty.

A simple descent and distance forever etched in Alabama lore.

Now, that sense of joy has been replaced by existential dread every time Tua steps onto the field in the orange and teal colors of the Miami Dolphins. Fear that the next blow will be the last, the one he may never recover from, or the one that will keep him from living the healthy, active lifestyle he wants into his later years.

Tua suffered another concussion during Thursday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills on a play where his competitive fire took over on an off-night when his team needed a play. He ducked his head and threw a punch at Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s chest, sending Tua’s head ricocheting off the unforgiving turf.

He remained lying on the field, his arms flailing involuntarily, an eerie reminder of the concussion he suffered against the Bengals in September 2022, also during a primetime broadcast of Thursday Night Football.

It’s Tua’s third documented concussion in the NFL, and very likely his fourth. The Sunday before that game against Cincinnati, Tua suffered a terrifying blow against the same Buffalo Bills, one that was never ruled a concussion but sounded like one. Following his injury against Cincinnati, and due to the mishandling of what happened just four days earlier, the NFL revised its concussion protocol.

This latest concussion will hopefully make Tua reconsider whether he should continue playing the game he so clearly loves. He was considering retirement after the 2022 season. The time for contemplation is over and it’s time for him to hang up his boots for good. Football will always be a part of who he is and there are plenty of ways for him to stay connected to the game, whether that’s in Miami, Tuscaloosa or back home in Ewa Beach.

He’s earned his money. He’s proven himself to be a capable NFL quarterback. He signed a massive contract extension with the Dolphins this offseason, one that guarantees him $167 million and ensures his children will have everything they need for the rest of their lives. His NFL career hasn’t gone as he’d hoped, just as his college career didn’t have the fairytale ending he wanted or fans expected. But he’s succeeded in one of the toughest professions in the world, where only the top 0.1% ever make it as far as he did.

Tua is more than a football player. He is more than a source of my own and other people’s entertainment. And more importantly, he is a father, a husband, a son, a brother, and a friend. And everyone who is close to Tua, and everyone who feels close to him after watching his career, cares more about Tua as a person than Tua as a quarterback.