NFLPA Agrees to Concussion Protocol Changes in Wake of Tua Tagovailoa's Injury

The NFL Players Association announced Friday that it has agreed to changes to the league's concussion protocol in the aftermath of the hit that sent Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to the hospital with head and neck injuries.

The NFLPA said in a statement, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler:

"Our union has agreed to change the concussion protocols to protect players from returning to play in the case of any similar incident to what we saw on September 25. We would like these changes to go into effect before this weekend's games to immediately protect the players and hope the NFL accepts the change before then as well."

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported earlier this week that the NFL and NFLPA agreed to the framework for an updated concussion protocol that would rule out players who show gross motor instability during games.

"As we have discussed with the NFLPA, we agree that changes to the joint NFL-NFLPA protocols are necessary to further enhance player safety," the NFL said in a statement on Friday. "We have already spoken to members of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and the leadership of the Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultants and Independent Certified Athletic Trainers who serve as spotters to discuss these likely changes."

On Thursday night, Indianapolis Colts running back Nyheim Hines, who was starting in place of an injured Jonathan Taylor, was ruled out after exhibiting gross motor instability.

Hines took a hard hit on the opening drive against the Denver Broncos and struggled to stay on his feet as he tried to walk back to the huddle. Colts offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Bernhard Raimann held him up until the team's medical staff took over.

A look into the league's protocols was called for after Tagovailoa returned to a Week 3 matchup against the Buffalo Bills despite exhibiting concussion-like symptoms. The notion intensified just four days later during a Week 4 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals when he was transported to the hospital on a stretcher after taking a big hit that resulted in head and neck injuries.

Tagovailoa has since been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters the quarterback has been meeting with outside specialists.

The NFL and NFLPA are still investigating Tagovailoa's concussion evaluation during Miami's Week 3 matchup against Buffalo. NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills told NFL Media's Judy Battista (h/t Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio) that the results of the investigation would be made public.