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The 24-year-old was sacked by Bengals defensive tackle Josh
Tupou in the first half and appeared to hit the back of his head
on the turf.
Fans were left horrified as his fingers briefly contorted into a
"fencing posture" and he remained on the ground for a few
minutes as trainers attended to him and carried him off the
field.
He was taken to the hospital but released Thursday night and
McDaniel confirmed to reporters Friday that he flew home with
the team, experiencing persistent headaches that had not abated
as of Friday morning. He was expected to undergo an MRI on
Friday.
The Dolphins lost the game 27-15 for their first defeat of the
season.
In a Twitter post Friday afternoon, Tagovailoa thanked fans for
their support and said he was "feeling much better."
The injury amplified fierce criticism over the decision to play
him Thursday after he was also evaluated for a concussion on
Sunday during the Dolphins' win over the Buffalo Bills.
He looked unsteady as he left the field but passed the
league-mandated concussion protocol at halftime and was allowed
to return to the game. He was determined not to have suffered a
head injury.
McDaniels told reporters Tagovailoa was cleared by "several
layers of medical professionals" after the hit on Sunday.
"Those people - the collection of them - cleared him of any head
injury whatsoever and he had a back and ankle issue," he said.
"So in terms of deciding whether or not to play a guy on a game,
on a Thursday night game, I'm concerned about his lower back and
his ankle and putting them in harm's way.
"I have 100% conviction in our process with regarding our
players - this is a player-friendly organization."
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) said after Sunday's game it
was initiating an investigation into the handling of the
concussion evaluation, while the NFL said a review was ongoing
but every indication was that proper protocol had been followed.
"Player health and safety is at the core of the union's mission.
Our concern tonight is for Tua and we hope for a full and speedy
recovery," the NFLPA said on Thursday.
NFLPA President JC Tretter said on Friday that the organisation
would move to "hold those responsible accountable" for the
decision to let Tagovailoa play and suggested it may be
necessary to amend existing protocols.
"We need to figure out how and why the decisions were made last
Sunday to allow a player with a 'no-go' symptom back on the
field," Tretter said on Twitter.
The Dolphins did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sills said in an interview with
NFL.com on Friday that all gameday concussion evaluations are
done by both a team physician and an independent neuro-consultant
with no affiliation to the team.
"We're still doing a very active review of the entire
situation," he said. "There are very serious consequences if the
protocol is determined not to have been followed."
He added that the review needed to finish before the league
should make "any determination" on changing concussion
protocols.
"If we feel like we need to make adjustments collectively with
the players union, we're absolutely committed to that," Sills
said.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru and Amy Tennery in New
York; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Christian Radnedge)
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