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    • ‘You don’t want to be a noodle’
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    ‘You don’t want to be a noodle’

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    Whether they like it or not, Tennessee Titans players can’t help but think about the scary situation Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finds himself in.

    The Titans (0-3) visit the Dolphins (1-2) at Hard Rock Stadium for a “Monday Night Football” game (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) this week. The Dolphins will be without Tagovailoa, the NFL’s reigning scoring leader, as he recovers from his fourth diagnosed concussion in the past five years. That includes three in his NFL career.

    His most recent, suffered in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, landed him on injured reserve and sparked talk and speculation from both the media and fans about whether Tagovailoa should consider retirement.

    “It’s something we don’t like to think about as players, but it’s a reality of the game,” Titans quarterback Will Levis said. “It’s so (easy) to pretend that that’s not something that’s a potential for all of us.”

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    There were 219 concussions reported in the NFL in 2023. That’s 22% less than the record numbers in 2017, but an increase from the 172 reported in 2020 and 187 reported in 2021. It remains unknown given the constant number of collisions in football and how dependent concussion diagnoses are based on symptoms caused by third parties are noticed or self-reported by players, how many concussions are suffered but not diagnosed.

    As is the case in all NFL locker rooms, the Titans’ roster is littered with players who have dealt with concussions in the past. Wide receiver Treylon Burks has missed five games over the past two years due to a concussion, including three games last season after he had to be taken off the field on a stretcher following a helmet-to-helmet hit in Pittsburgh.

    Titans backup quarterback Mason Rudolph was knocked unconscious after a head-on collision in a game against Baltimore in 2019. Linebacker Luke Gifford went out with a concussion during the first game of the 2024 preseason, ironically suffering the injury during the dynamic kick-off game that is specifically designed to reduce injuries.

    And this season, tight end Josh Whyle became the first Titans player to wear a Guardian Cap — essentially a soft outer layer to add an extra layer of cushion to the helmet — during games after being diagnosed with a concussion in 2023. and another in the 2024 preseason.

    Tagovailoa’s situation resonates with all of these players. Coming back from a concussion isn’t as simple as waiting for your brain to heal.

    “You basically go crazy no matter how long you’re gone,” Burks said. “It’s hard to explain until you have one.”

    “It was hard to come back,” Rudolph added. “Two weeks later I tried to come back. It only takes a minute to be comfortable on the pitch again. No (I don’t regret it at all); I felt like it was more a matter of confidence. You I missed a few weeks. You almost got a little bit of PTSD. I felt fine in my head and I was cleared by some of the best specialists in Pittsburgh. It’s kind of messing you up mentally.”

    Doctors explained to Rudolph after his concussion that losing consciousness usually has nothing to do with the severity of the injury. The difference, Rudolph says, is optics. Everyone remembers the image of an unresponsive player surrounded by medical personnel.

    So 22 days later, when he returned for the first time, coincidentally for a “Monday Night Football” game against Miami, he was a little nervous. He admits it took him a few rides to calm down and feel like himself again.

    The repetitive nature of Tagovailoa’s situation further complicates an already complicated conundrum for players. Levis said he believes the more carefully someone plays, the more likely he or she is to get hurt. Gifford and Burks say surviving as a pro isn’t as simple as having a certain number of concussions in mind and then calling it a career.

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    “It’s not a situation I want to find myself in, that much I know,” Gifford said.

    The unfortunate reality, however, is that these are players in situations Doing are located in.

    “I have a family to take care of,” Burks said. “But eventually there comes a time when if you have too many, you eventually have to start thinking about yourself and your well-being. In 10 to 20 years, you don’t want to be a noodle anymore. You’ve got to keep that in perspective too.”

    Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @nicksuss.

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