Tua Tagovailoa Says Injuries Are Part of the Game: 'I'm Not Playing Badminton'

Former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa isn't shying away from the conversation surrounding his health ahead of the NFL draft.

The presumptive first-round pick went on Instagram Live on Friday with Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Mike Locksley and dove right into the topic, arguing that injuries are inevitable at the college and pro levels. 

"I'm not playing badminton. I'm not on the swim team," Tagovailoa said, via ESPN. "[Football] is a physical sport. You're gonna get hurt. That just comes with it. And it was just very unfortunate that I got hurt every season. It's a part of the game. It's a contact sport. I can only control what I can control. I can't control that."

While players are often hurt, those who have suffered potentially career-ending injuries will always have coaches and general managers concerned. The biggest predictor of future injuries remains past injuries, and coming off a right posterior hip dislocation not even a year ago, it's certainly fair to wonder how the 22-year-old will respond. 

Yet the hip is only one issue that plagued Tagovailoa's college days. Numerous knee and ankle injuries also caused him trouble at Alabama. 

While the quarterback has been open about his recovery process and is sharing his medical scans to any team who asks for them, the stigma about his health will be hard to overcome, especially in a rookie season when more eyes than ever will be on him. 

For that matter, Tagovailoa doesn't seem too concerned about his draft position. The quarterback is just ready to get back on the field after getting carted off last November. 

"I'll play for whoever takes me," Tagovailoa said. "I just want to play, man. It doesn't matter what organization I go to, man. I just want to play. I look forward to playing under any organization that is willing to take a chance on me."

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller has Tagovailoa going fifth overall to the Miami Dolphins in his latest mock draft, citing his superiority to Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert as the reason to take the risk on the former Tide star.