Tua Tagovailoa injury puts NFL future, football career in jeopardy
Tua Tagovailoa, who was likely to be a top-five pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, suffered a potentially career-threatening injury on Saturday for Alabama.
Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been pegged as a potentially can’t-miss NFL Draft prospect. The left-handed signal-caller has put up ridiculous numbers since taking over as the starter as a Tuscaloosa. But an injury suffered on Saturday in the Crimson Tide’s matchup with Mississippi State has put that in jeopardy.
Late in the second quarter, Tagovailoa was tackled hard while rolling out of the pocket. He was then carted off of the field, unable to put any pressure on his right leg. As he went to the locker room for X-rays, it was reported he had a hip injury. He was then helicoptered to Birmingham from Starkville for further treatment and evaluation.
Not long after, Aaron Suttles of The Athletic reported that Tagovailoa suffered a “dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture”:
ProFootballDoc (Dr. David J. Chao) of The San Diego Union-Tribune evaluated the injury prior to Suttles’ report. Chao stated that the fracture to the posterior wall severely worsens the injury. Even without the fracture, though, Chao noted that Tagovailoa’s recovery from the dislocation itself was not certain.
There are a ton of factors at play with the injury that we just can’t evaluate right now. We don’t know if trainers and on-site doctors in Starkville were able to reduce (put back in place) the hip on-site, which can be critical for a potential recovery. We do know that Tagovailoa will have surgery, though, and that his 2019 season is certainly done.
Looking to the NFL, though, Tagovailoa’s future at the next level — and in football — is clearly now put into question with this injury. Frankly, it’s horrible to see. This is a phenomenally talented player who seemingly had a bright NFL future that may never get to realize it.
We’ll certainly be waiting for more information about the injury, prognosis and what this means for Tagovailoa moving forward. However, the severity of the injury and what we’ve seen from players with this type of injury before puts the football future of Tua Tagovailoa very much in doubt.