Tua Tagovailoa’s health isn’t just a Dolphins concern – it’s become the NFL’s most pressing quarterback puzzle. After suffering two documented concussions in 2022 (including the terrifying ‘fencing response’ incident on Thursday Night Football), Miami’s franchise QB missed five games last season with another head injury.

Now, GM Chris Grier’s public demand – that Tua must “be available.” And stop taking “unacceptable risks” – has put the spotlight squarely on how the lefty gunslinger plays the game.

Enter a Hall of Fame voice who knows exactly what it’s like to balance aggression with self-preservation. On a recent podcast appearance, one legendary QB didn’t just sympathize with Tua’s dilemma. He issued a blunt survival guide ripped straight from today’s elite playbook. And the template? None other than Buffalo’s ironman, Josh Allen. Enter Hall of Fame QB Steve Young, who dropped some truth bombs about Tua’s tightrope act on the Rich Eisen Show. The 49ers legend didn’t hold back, “Emmitt Smith said it best: ‘Know when the journey’s over.’ There’s a real talent sophistication, a maturity – you can attack, you can still make plays, just you’re going to have to end it earlier. And that’s just how… he’s gotten in trouble when you try to be heroic.”

Tua’s injury history reads like a medical drama with heartbreaking twists. The QB, who once led Alabama to a national championship off the bench in 2018, – and nearly repeated in 2019 – saw his luck turn brutal that same year. A sack against Mississippi State became a nightmare. Fractured pelvis, dislocated hip, broken nose, and his first documented concussion, all on one play. It ended his college career and foreshadowed what was to come.

In the NFL, the hits kept coming. 2022 became the year that put Tua’s health under a microscope:

• Week 3 vs. Bills: A wobbly stumble after a hit (initially called a “back injury”) sparked league-wide scrutiny over Miami’s concussion protocol.
• Four days later vs. Bengals: The infamous “fencing response” hit on Thursday Night Football, where his hands froze unnaturally after his head slammed the turf. He later admitted he was knocked unconscious.

Two concussions in five days. Two hospital trips. And a national debate about player safety with Tua at the center. So what’s the solution? Hall of Famer Steve Young has a blunt prescription. Young, Tua needs to steal Josh Allen’s superpower and ditch the kryptonite.

Steve Young’s formula for fixing Tua Tagovailoa

Hall of Famer Steve Young didn’t sugarcoat it when breaking down Tua Tagovailoa’s high-wire existence: “Josh Allen has stayed healthy while trying to be heroic, and you just got to be smarter than… as you age. But if you’re not going to attack the line of scrimmage, you will not be in the Super Bowl.” The advice cuts to the core of Tua’s dilemma – how to balance the Dolphins’ $212 million investment in his playmaking with the harsh reality of his concussion history.

Young’s play? Take a page from Allen’s playbook – minus the risky chapters. “He has to figure out a way to present that threat without putting himself at greater risk,” Young stressed, acknowledging the brutal truth: “It’s football… nobody cares about what they’re getting paid at the moment of impact.” Even Allen himself, who watched Tua crumple against Buffalo last September, admitted, “You can’t help but feel for him… I’ve got a lot of love for him.”

The irony? Allen’s own kamikaze style would’ve gotten Tua benched by Miami’s medical staff. Yet Young’s point stands: championship QBs can’t play scared. “That’s where the maturity is,” he said, urging Tua to master the art of calculated chaos – throwing dimes on third down, then sliding two yards earlier than he wants to.

It’s a brutal ask for a guy whose 2022 ‘fencing response’ concussion still haunts the league. But as Tony Gonzalez bluntly put it after Tua’s latest head injury: “If that was my son, I’d say it might be time.” The Dolphins’ staff insists they’re prioritizing ‘the human being’ over the player. Yet Young’s challenge lingers: can Tua rewrite his instincts fast enough to survive the NFL’s violence. Or will his body write the ending for him?