In the Miami Dolphins Thursday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a horrifying concussion, and that has kicked off more discussions about head injuries in the NFL. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has now weighed in on the concussion risks associated with playing pro football.
On an episode of his ‘Let’s Go’ podcast, Brady was asked about his take on the frequency of head injuries in the NFL. Brady noted that there is an inherent risk that comes with playing professional football, just like any other contact sport. There can be some measures taken to make the sport safer, but the player also has a responsibility to prevent and recover from injuries.
“I think concussions are a part of contact sports,” Brady said. “I watch boxing and I watch UFC. People are knocked out quite a bit. That’s part of playing these very physical sports,” Brady said. “All of them come with risks associated with it. And I think when you’re an athlete that chooses to do that you gotta understand that’s part of it, just like you can injure other parts of your body as well.
“My view has always been an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. To do your best to really try to be proactive with your health and to make sure that when you do get injured you can recover as quickly as possible and get your body in the best position possible to give it the best nutrients as possible to deal with whatever trauma you come into contact with.”
The NFL and NFLPA are currently investigating the handling of Tagovailoa’s injury after he returned from what appeared to be a head injury suffered against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. Tagovailoa finished that game, but had to be carted off the field after another blow to the head against the Bengals.
Tagovailoa has already been ruled out of Miami’s Week 5 matchup against the New York Jets.
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