NFL Medical Officer Reveals How Much Say League Has in...

Many people were worried about Miami Dolphins quarterback long-term health and whether he should continue

playing in the NFL after he sustained his third concussion in three seasons. Some believe that in order to protect from

himself, it is the team’s or perhaps the NFL’s responsibility to keep him off the field this season.

Dr. Allen Sills, the chief medical officer of the NFL, made it clear that the organization cannot, in fact, make decisions for a player on

when he can resume playing or whether he must retire for health reasons. “Patient autonomy and medical decision-making really

matters, and I think that’s what we have to recognize goes on with our concussion protocol as well,” Sills said on ESPN. “In the end,

patients’ career decisions must represent the autonomy they derive from conversations with medical professionals who provide them

with the greatest medical advice.”

Because there’s no blueprint to determine a player’s risk or injury or re-injury after they return to play, Sills said the NFL’s control

over injuries essentially ends once a player is cleared to play or they pass the league’s concussion protocol.

Football-specific exercise, club-based non-contact drills, aerobic exercise, symptom-limited activity, and clearance for full football

activity are the five steps of the NFL concussion protocol that a player must finish. “It’s not like we can put in your number of

concussions and how long between them and your age and some unusual constant… and come up with a risk,” Sills stated. “It just

doesn’t work that way.”Thus, the entirety of the patient’s history, the number of concussions, the time elapsed between them, the

length of time the symptoms lasted following each, and a great deal of the patient’s input regarding their age, profession, and other

personal details must be considered.”

Tagovailoa is one of 10 players – and the only quarterback – to enter the NFL’s concussion protocol at least three times.

NFL Medical Officer Reveals How Much Say League Has in Tua Retirement Decision.