Few players in recent memory have been plagued by concussions quite like Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But in an effort to avoid any more in the future, he’s taking some unique steps.
Tagovailoa recently revealed that he’s been getting jiu-jitsu lessons in order to improve the way he falls when taken to the ground on a sack or a big hit. Together with his jiu-jitsu trainer, he’s been watching some of the footage of the hits that resulted in concussions and worked from there.
“It wasn’t tough to watch,” Tagovailoa said, via ProFootballTalk. “I want to get better at everything that I can do to help the team win games, and I know the biggest one is my health, staying out on the field. And so looking at the film, I was able to watch that with my jiu-jitsu coach, and we were able to kind of relive the scenario in how I got tackled, how I fell. And it wasn’t just one particular game. It was multiple ways that I got taken down and how I could have prevented that.”
Tagovailoa suffered at least two concussions over the course of the 2022 season. The Dolphins managed to do just enough without him to get to nine wins and make the playoffs, but an offseason of uncertainty ensued.
Tua Tagovailoa and his jiu-jitsu coach watch film of his sacks to improve how he falls. https://t.co/jonL5AG9DR
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 22, 2023
Injuries have limited Tua Tagovailoa to 26 games over the past two seasons.
Hopefully they haven’t made him susceptible to any more.