Tua Tagovailoa, who considered retiring due to concussions, leaves after hard hit by Damar Hamlin

In one play, everyone was reminded of the Tua Tagovailoa story during the 2023 offseason.

Tagovailoa suffered multiple concussions during the 2022 season, including a terrifying one on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. He said he considered retiring after the season but ultimately decided to continue his football career.

On Thursday evening he experienced another terrifying moment.

Tagovailoa was running for a first down on fourth-and-4, and he didn’t slide at that point. Tagovailoa kept his head down and took a hard hit from Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and stayed down. He tried to get up, but couldn’t. He avoided those kinds of hits last season, but Thursday’s hit put him out of the game.

Tagovailoa got up, limped off the court and was immediately taken back to the locker room. Skylar Thompson replaced him.

In July, Tagovailoa and the Dolphins signed a four-year, $212.4 million contract. Concerns about Tagovailoa and his health were not forgotten, but they had faded into the background after he played in every game last season. After Thursday night, all the concerns about Tagovailoa and his health will resurface.