In the third quarter of the Miami Dolphins ' "Thursday Night Football" game vs. the Buffalo Bills , former Alabama football quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion on a quarterback scramble.
It's an injury that has caused quite the reaction within the football world, as the focus shifts to the health and well-being of Tagovailoa as it was his third diagnosed concussion in his NFL career.
Those reactions include Manti Te'o, a family friend of Tagovailoa, who got choked up and emotional about his "little brother" on Friday during an appearance on the NFL Network's "Good Morning Football.'
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"I'll say this, Kyle, after he suffered the one against the Bengals , I wanted him to walk. When I saw him have to be carted off the field, I wanted him to walk. That was hard bro," Te'o said Friday alongside Jamie Erdahl and Kyle Brandt as he held back tears.
"What people have to understand is this is just a game and then there's life. When you watch a young man that you've known since he's was a little boy go out there (it's hard). Can't imagine how it is for Uncle Galu and Auntie Diane to watch their son again go down."
Te'o, who played seven seasons in the NFL after playing collegiately at Notre Dame, spoke from his own experiences with concussions and how he doesn't remember walking off the field — and went as far as saying he was concerned Tagovailoa experienced that same thing Thursday.
He'd go on to say that he wants the best for Tagovailoa, as the former Crimson Tide quarterback begins his recovery and makes a decision if he continues to play or not. If Tagovailoa is forced to retire medically, Tagovailoa has the right to earn the remaining $124 million of the $167 million guaranteed on his contract extension that he signed in July.
"I want the best for Tua, the man, the father. He's a father of two now. I want him to be able, not today, but 10, 15, 20 years down the line to be able to raise his children and to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle. That's what I want for Tua," Te'o said. "That's true Joy.
"Like how Jamie talked about 'slide Tua,' I was saying the same thing, bro, just slide. But knowing the competitor in him, he wants to win. He has a whole new helmet just to protect him. He'd lost weight just to protect himself."
He added: "It was big for a family member to watch him go through that again. And I'm just so grateful that the NFL community has rallied around Tua. ... He understands what's important in life and I just hope that he makes the right decision."
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It's been well-documented since he took for Brian Flores in 2022, that Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is not just close with his players but ingratiates himself into the roster and isn't afraid to show his emotion.
It's a picture and feeling that came across Thursday night for McDaniel in his postgame news conference as he talked about his quarterback.
"I'm not worried about anything that is out of my hand. ... I'm just worried about the human being. He will drive the ship when we get the appropriate information. But it's day-by-day health," McDaniel said.
He added: "My thought was concern. I was just worried about my guy. It's not something that you ever want to be a part of."
In the hours following Tagovailoa's concussion, a photo of McDaniel kissing Tagovailoa on the head as he walked off the field has surfaced on social media and received quite a warm reaction among football fans. At his day after news conference on Friday, McDaniel seemed to be asked about that photo and what he may have said to Tagovailoa, to which he said:
"He's the starting quarterback of his family. Go in the locker room, take a deep breath and I'll see you soon," McDaniel said per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
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Following the Thursday night's game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen joined Amazon Prime's postgame show and offered his thoughts and prayers to Tagovailoa.
"If you know Tua outside of football like you do and I do, you can't help but feel for him," Allen said. "He's a great football player but he's even a greater human being. He's one of the best humans on the planet. I got a lot of love for him and praying for him and his family and hope everything is okay.
"It's tough man. This game of football that we play, it got its highs and its lows and that is definitely one of its lows."
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Manti Te'o on Tua Tagovailoa's concussion: 'I want the best for Tua'
