Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa returns to practice just under two weeks after suffering frightening concussion

Just under two weeks after being taken off the field via stretcher and transported to a local Cincinnati hospital due to a head injury, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is set to return to the practice field, per NFL Media. Tagovailoa will join his teammates at practice on Wednesday as part of his advancement through the concussion protocol.

According to NFL Media, Tagovailoa has consulted with four independent specialists, including the top sports concussion neurologist and the top neuropsychologist, since suffering his injury. On the "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 29, Tagovailoa was sacked and thrown down on his head. He then raised his hands in eery fashion as a neurological response to head trauma. He remained on the turf for several minutes before ultimately being loaded on a stretcher and taken off the field. 

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Many questioned if Tagovailoa should have even been playing on that Thursday night, as it appeared he suffered a head injury five days before in the matchup against the Buffalo Bills. This led to an investigation into the matter, which resulted in a few things. One, the NFLPA terminated the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who helped clear Tagovailoa to return to action against the Bills, and two, the league adjusted its concussion protocols. 

The NFL and NFLPA announced last week that their review into Tagovailoa being cleared vs. Buffalo concluded that the "outcome in this case is not what was intended when the protocols were drafted." Now, the protocols include the term "ataxia" as part of the mandatory "no-go" symptoms. 

"Ataxia" is defined as abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue. Per the joint NFL-NFLPA statement, if a player is diagnosed with this ataxia by any club or neutral physician involved in the protocol, he is prohibited from returning to the game. We saw this new protocol put into effect several instances last week.