How Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa overcame concussions to win SN's NFL Comeback Player of the Year

The Comeback Player of the Year award has always been a confounding one, as the definition of a "comeback" is subjective.

Some years, a player that endures the best bounce-back season in the NFL wins the award. Other times, a player who was injured the previous season but has a healthy, productive year gets it. There are also times when a veteran comes out of the blue to surprise everyone and earn consideration for the honor.

SN's 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year race was one of the most wide-open in recent memory. Several candidates were viewed as legitimate contenders for the award.

Baker Mayfield enjoyed a bounce-back season in his first with the Buccaneers. He finished seventh in the NFL in touchdown passes (28) after playing on the Panthers' scout team at times in 2022.

Joe Flacco was a classic out-of-the-blue candidate. He signed to the Browns' roster midway through the year and enjoyed his best season as a starter since his 2017 campaign with the Ravens. He led the Browns to a 4-1 record in five starts and got the team into the playoffs despite numerous injuries to key offensive playmakers.

MORE AWARDS: Full voting results | Sporting News 2023 NFL All-Pro team

Then, of course, there was Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who returned to the NFL to play in 2023 despite suffering an on-field cardiac arrest against the Bengals in Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season. Hamlin played only sparingly, but the fact that he saw the field at all was a miracle considering NFL fans spent several days in January of 2023 wondering whether he would survive his medical episode.

All of these players were certainly worthy candidates, but it was Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who won Sporting News' 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, as voted on by players, coaches, and executives across the NFL.

Tagovailoa tallied 37.3 percent of the vote from around the league in a tightly contested race. Both Hamlin (25.6 percent) and Mayfield (14.9 percent) also garnered considerable support league-wide. Meanwhile, Flacco (1.2 percent) had a solid write-in campaign despite not being included on the initial ballots, which began circulating to NFL teams before he made his first start.

Tagovailoa's victory is indicative of the effort he put in to overcome an injury-riddled 2022 and post high-end passing numbers while leading Miami back to the postseason.

Tua Tagovailoa's concussions 2022

Tagovailoa enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, his first year in Mike McDaniel's offensive system. However, he once again endured injury issues throughout the campaign, most notably concussions.

It all began for Tagovailoa when he suffered an injury in the Dolphins' Week 3 matchup with the Bills. Miami initially announced that he had suffered a head injury, but the Dolphins later changed their tune, indicating he had a back problem.

Tagovailoa returned to that game following that diagnosis, albeit under questionable circumstances. He struggled with his passing consistency as the Dolphins eked out a 21-19 win.

A few days later, the Dolphins played on "Thursday Night Football" against the Bengals. Tagovailoa had been deemed "questionable" with back and ankle injuries before that contest, but he ultimately started.

Then, with 5:43 left in the second quarter, Tagovailoa hit his head violently after being slung to the ground by Cincinnati nose tackle Josh Tupou. The Dolphins quarterback lost consciousness and went into a fencing posture, indicating a serious injury.

The game was stopped for several minutes as medical personnel tended to Tagovailoa. His head and neck were immobilized before he was placed on a stretcher and wheeled off the field. He was taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

While Tagovailoa ultimately was cleared to fly home with the Dolphins, his injury started a debate about the efficacy of the NFL's concussion protocol. It also led many to wonder whether the Dolphins had covered up his head injury from just a few days earlier.

Either way, Tagovailoa missed Miami's next two games as a precaution. He returned in Week 7 and continued to play well for the Dolphins until another head injury sidelined him for the final three games of the season, including a playoff loss to the Bills.

In total, Tagovailoa suffered two official concussions, and many believed that he had endured a third against the Bills earlier in the season. NFL analysts and medical professionals alike wondered what the future had in store for the young quarterback and whether he should continue playing despite his repeated head injuries.

Tua Tagovailoa retirement discussions

Tagovailoa was among those asking questions about his future, and he admitted a few months after the 2022 NFL season that he had contemplated retiring.

“Yeah, I think I considered it, you know, for a time, having sat down with my family, having sat down with my wife and having those kind of conversations,” Tagovailoa said in an April news conference, per NFL.com.

However, he ultimately decided that he wasn't ready to give up the sport after just three seasons at the NFL level.

"Really, it would be hard for me to walk away from this game with how old I am, with my son," Tagovailoa explained. "I always dreamed of growing — playing as long as I could to where my son knew exactly what he was watching his dad do."

Tagovailoa's son, Ace, was born in Sept. of 2022, just seven months before his news conference.

While Tagovailoa did express concern about his overall health, he was confident his decision was the right one.

"I feel like this is what’s best for me and my family," he said. "I love the game of football. If I didn’t I would have quite a long time [ago]."

Tua Tagovailoa learns jiu-jitsu, how to safely fall

With that decision made, Tagovailoa started preparing for the 2023 NFL season with one focus in mind. He had to learn how to better protect himself while taking hits at the NFL level.

Many of Tagovailoa's head injuries occurred because he ended up hitting his head hard on the ground while falling. That's why the Dolphins quarterback made learning to properly fall his offseason goal.

How? He participated in jiu-jitsu, as he explained to reporters at his April media availability.

"Learned some grappling techniques and learned some other things too that I don't think I should disclose," Tagovailoa told them of his lessons. "But, for the most part, learn how to fall. You think it's easy — just don't fall and hit your head — but there's a lot more to it."

We used, like, crash pads to land on first with trying to fall. Obviously, tucking your chin — that was one of the deals — but it went a lot more into the technique of how to disperse your energy when you fall. Kind of like the posture you want to be in and if you're not presented that posture, what are other things that you can do to help you disperse the energy when you fall. It's a lot of those things. It's actually a lot cooler than you think when you hear of 'learning how to fall.'

Tagovailoa clearly enjoyed his training, and he was able to put it to good use on the field. Here's just one example of Tagovailoa utilizing his jiu-jitsu training during a play.

Tua-Jitsu sighting. #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/03mdXhdZhK

— Kyle Crabbs (@GrindingTheTape) October 16, 2023

Tagovailoa's health allowed him to play a full season in the Dolphins' offense despite taking a career-high 29 sacks, and the result was his most prolific year as a starting quarterback.

Tua Tagovailoa's stats 2023

Tagovailoa was just one of nine quarterbacks league-wide to start all 17 of his team's regular-season games, allowing him to post top-five marks in many major statistical passing categories.

Notably, Tagovailoa led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards as part of Miami's high-flying offensive attack. He also was one of three quarterbacks to post a passer rating of over 100, and he played a major role in the Dolphins' 70-20 win over the Broncos, during which Tagovailoa completed 23-of-26 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns.

Below is a look at Tagovailoa's stats from the 2023 NFL season and where they ranked among his qualified peers.

One could certainly take issue with Tagovailoa's interceptions. His lack of success against the NFL's better teams also keeps him out of the NFL's top quarterback conversation -- for now.

Even so, Tagovailoa has showcased tremendous growth during his relatively short time in the NFL. His ability to come back from the concussions that nearly ended his career by learning to better protect himself was more than enough to make him a strong Comeback Player of the Year candidate.

And considering that Tagovailoa played at a borderline MVP level for most of the season as one of the NFL's most prolific passers, it makes sense that his peers would recognize him even amid a crowded Comeback Player of the Year field.