What Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa is doing to prevent additional concussions

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is taking on a new activity this offseason in hopes of preventing additional concussions.

In an interview with FanDuel’s “Up and Adams Show” on Radio Row in Phoenix, Tagovailoa said he will be partaking in Judo weekly in the offseason.

“We’ve got a plan set up and I’ll be doing, Judo on Fridays just so I can figure out understanding my body and how to fall,” Tagovailoa said Friday, in his first public comments since a concussion on Christmas Day effectively ended his season.

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art that is “intended to train body and mind” and “involves using holds and leverage to unbalance the opponent,” according to wayofmartialarts.com. “Ukemi, the art of falling, is an essential part of learning judo,” according to judoinfo.com.

Despite a career-best season in which he threw 25 touchdowns, Tagovailoa was diagnosed with a pair of concussions that sidelined him for five games in 2022. His second landed him in the protocol for more than a month and kept him off the field for Miami’s final three games, including its season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills. A league source on Feb. 1 told the Miami Herald Tagovailoa cleared the protocol.

In an end-of-season news conference, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said the team would look into ways to assist Tagovailoa in the way he falls. In both of the concussions Tagovailoa sustained, he hit the back of his head on the ground. The second head injury he sustained against the Packers was a seemingly innocuous tackle in which he was tripped up from behind.

“Our plan is to kind of approach it like you do a young quarterback who’s not used to sliding,” McDaniel said in January, “We have ideas and thoughts of how to help him because that is a consistency that we’ve noticed as well, is that they’re ground-induced. So like everything else, we’ll do everything in our power to help coach them and that’s a new way to attempt to coach.”

McDaniel and Dolphins general manager Chris Grier said Tagovailoa is expected to return as Miami’s starting quarterback in 2023. The NFL this week released fifth-year option salaries for the 2020 Draft Class. The Dolphins have until May 1 to exercise Tagovailoa’s option, which would extend his rookie deal through the 2024 season and fully guarantee his base salary at about $23.2 million. Tagovailoa is also eligible for an extension.

Asked if welcoming his first child last year has made him want to “step back a little bit” amid his head injuries, he responded, “no.”

“I don’t think it forces me to be afraid of wanting to come back and play,” he said. “It definitely makes me want to do things to help myself by hopefully not being those positions next year.”

Phillips represents Dolphins

Dolphins outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips is also in Phoenix, representing the franchise as the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee at the NFL Honors event on Thursday night.

On Friday morning, he and other team nominees gathered at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley for the NFL’s annual community.

During the two-hour event, Philips and other NFL players met with local youth for an assortment of activities, including tree-planting and football drills.

In his first two seasons in Miami, Phillips has been a consistent face in the community, from working with incarcerated youth to assisting with the Dolphins Challenge Cancer event.

As he enters his third season, Phillips says he wants to work on his building his own foundation.

“I really want to focus down, so I can make more of an impact in one or two [areas], whether it’s cancer research or juvenile deliquency,” said Phillips, who recorded seven sacks in 2022.

On the field, Phillips said he’s looking forward to being coached by Vic Fangio, who is expected to join the Dolphins’ staff as defensive coordinator after the Super Bowl.

“I’m super excited,” he said. “We’ve got some talented guys in the room. We all play with great passion for the game. So, I’m just excited to meet him and see what the scheme is like and see the energy he brings.”