Manti Te’o fought back tears and his voice trembled as he shared his raw emotions about his close friend, Tua Tagovailoa, following the quarterback’s third diagnosed concussion during Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills. The former Notre Dame star, visibly shaken, appeared on Good Morning Football on Friday morning, struggling to find the right words as he processed the painful moment.
Watching Tagovailoa endure yet another concussion deeply affected Te’o, who views the Miami Dolphins quarterback as a “brother.” Reflecting on Tagovailoa’s previous concussions, Te’o recounted his thoughts when Tua was carted off the field in a 2022 game against the Bengals. “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… that was hard,” Te’o said, his voice filled with emotion.
Te’o emphasized that while football is a game, the stakes are much higher when it comes to life and health. “What people have to understand is this is just a game. And then there’s life,” he said. “When you watch a young man you’ve known since he was a little boy go out there… is it hard for me? Yeah. But I can’t imagine how it is for Uncle Galu and Auntie Danie to watch their son, again, go down.”
The deep bond between Te’o and Tagovailoa, both natives of Hawaii, has been evident throughout their careers. Although Te’o did not explicitly state whether they are related by blood, it is clear that their connection runs deeper than friendship. Te’o’s concern for Tagovailoa’s well-being is palpable, particularly after the quarterback’s third concussion in three years.
Tagovailoa’s first concussion occurred on September 29, 2022, against the Bengals, an incident Te’o referenced as a turning point in his own perspective on Tua’s health. The quarterback then suffered another concussion on December 25, 2022, which prematurely ended his season. Thursday night’s hit, which happened in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Bills, saw Tagovailoa take a hit while scrambling for a first down. Instead of sliding to avoid contact, he was struck, and his body fell into a “fencing posture,” a telltale sign of a severe brain injury that immediately raised alarm among medical experts.
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Te’o, visibly distressed, expressed his heartfelt hope for Tagovailoa’s future, emphasizing that his primary concern is Tua’s long-term health and happiness. “To see my brother Tua go down like that, it really just makes me—I want the best for Tua, the man, the father, he’s a father of two now,” Te’o said. “I want him to be able—not today, but 10, 15, 20 years down the line—to be able to raise his children, to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle. That’s what I want for Tua. That’s true joy.”
Many watching the game were critical of Tagovailoa’s decision not to slide on the play that led to the concussion. Te’o acknowledged those criticisms, explaining that the competitive nature in Tagovailoa likely drove him to keep fighting for yards. “Just knowing the competitor in him, he wants to win, and he has a whole new helmet to protect him. He lost weight just to protect himself,” Te’o said. “But to see him go down like that… I don’t mean to get emotional on the show, but it was big for a family member to watch him go through that again. I’m just so grateful that the NFL community has rallied around Tua.”
While some observers took comfort in the fact that Tagovailoa was able to walk off the field under his own power, Te’o cautioned that walking off doesn’t necessarily indicate a mild injury. Drawing from his own experiences, Te’o shared a chilling story about a time he suffered a concussion during a playoff game. “For somebody that’s been in that situation and has had a concussion, I don’t even know if Tua’s there as he’s walking off the field,” Te’o said. “There are clips of me after concussions getting off the ground and walking off the stadium, walking into the locker room. I don’t remember those walks.”
He recalled a specific instance from his career where he suffered a concussion against the Denver Broncos. “I got knocked out in the second quarter of that game. I got up, the camera footage shows me walking to the locker room… I didn’t wake up until the fourth quarter, there were two minutes left. I was sitting in the locker room trying to figure out, ‘Why am I in Denver?’” Te’o shared, underscoring the severity of concussions and the disorientation that can accompany them.
Tagovailoa is set to undergo further testing to determine the extent of the injury and establish a recovery timeline. In the wake of his 2022 concussions, Tagovailoa had previously considered retirement, a decision that may now be back on the table given his history of head injuries.
Te’o, who clearly has deep love and concern for Tagovailoa, expressed his hope that Tua will make the right decision for himself and his family. “I just hope for my little brother that he sees and he understands… knowing his makeup, he understands what’s important in life, and I just hope that he makes the right decision,” Te’o said. “I’m not going to make the decision for him. I’m not saying to step away from the game. As a brother, I just want the best for him and whatever that looks like for Tua and the Tagovailoa family.”
Ultimately, Te’o hopes that Tagovailoa can prioritize his health and future, even if it means walking away from the game they both love.
