Tua Tagovailoa’s injury file has grown longer every year, and the hits have come in every form imaginable. Ankles, ribs, fingers, hip, shoulder, concussions, back issues - the list stretches all the way from Alabama to the Falcons.
The most troubling chapter remains the one that unfolded in 2022, when a “back injury” in Week 3 against the Bills was later viewed as much more than that. The NFLPA is investigating the matter.
Then came the Week 4 collision against the Bengals, when Tagovailoa was slammed to the ground, went rigid, and was carted off on a backboard. He suffered another concussion in Week 16 against the Packers, giving him three concussions that season alone.
But the story started long before the NFL.
At Alabama, Tagovailoa was rarely untouched for long. In March 2018, he broke his left index finger in spring practice after hitting a lineman’s helmet while throwing, though he missed no practice time after quick surgery.
That fall brought a knee sprain against Missouri, a quad injury against Mississippi State, and then a right ankle injury in the SEC championship game against Georgia after Jonah Williams accidentally stepped on him. He later had a tightrope procedure so he could return for the College Football Playoff.
The ankle theme carried into October 2019, when he suffered a high ankle sprain against Tennessee and again chose a tightrope procedure. He missed one game before returning to start against LSU. A month later, his college career ended with the hip injury against Mississippi State that he has become so closely associated with.
The pro level brought its own string of setbacks. Tagovailoa’s rookie season was mostly clean, though he did show up on the injury report with a minor foot issue and later suffered a thumb injury in practice that was expected to cost him one game, a Week 12 matchup with the Jets.
In 2021, he was carted off after a hit against the Bills in Week 2 and later landed on injured reserve with rib fractures. That season also included a fractured middle finger on his throwing hand, which kept him out against the Texans in Week 9, and some uncertainty about his availability for the Ravens on Thursday night in Week 10.
After the turbulent 2022 season, 2023 was the outlier. Tagovailoa stayed healthy for all 17 games, led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards, and finished tied for fifth with 29 touchdowns as Miami went 11-6 and reached the postseason.
The durability didn’t last. In 2024, a concussion in Week 2 against the Bills sent him to injured reserve and cost him four games, and a hip injury in Week 16 against the 49ers ended his season early after he missed the final two games. In 2025, he stayed injury-free, but his production dropped sharply before he was released in the offseason.
Now the injury questions have followed him to Atlanta. In July 2026, Tagovailoa missed time early in his first Falcons training camp because of back tightness, though he returned for the team’s first preseason game. Then, three days before the season opener, he went down in practice with an apparent back injury, leaving Cooper Rush to take all of the first-team reps and putting Tagovailoa’s Week 1 status in doubt.
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