Tua Tagovailoa's Surgeon: QB 'Not Susceptible to Injury' Despite Hip Surgery

The surgeon who repaired Tua Tagovailoa's hip wants to quell all concerns: The Alabama quarterback is in no more danger than any other football player moving forward.  

"No, he is not susceptible to injury," Dr. Chip Routt said, per Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk. "We have a nice repair that should lower the chances of arthritic damage as he gets to be an old man. His injury had a pattern that allowed us to put the pieces back where they came from. ... What he had was serious, but we got it worked out."

Tagovailoa suffered a hip dislocation and fracture in a November win over Mississippi State. With the coronavirus pandemic forcing the NFL to bar teams from conducting in-person evaluations of players, there has been concern regarding Tagovailoa's long-term health.

"Things have really worked out," Routt said. "Most people could achieve what he has if they have the discipline he has. He has a lot of motivation to recover well. He's ahead of schedule a little bit. He's done an extraordinary amount of rehab. He was respectful of our rehab and protection instructions. He stayed within the parameters of what we outlined for him.

"He's been studied and examined more and with more X-rays and [MRIs] than any patient I've dealt with."

Tagovailoa's draft stock remains perhaps the most fluid of any potential top-five pick. It's possible he goes off the board as high as No. 3 to a team making a trade with the Detroit Lions. It's also possible teams like the Dolphins and Chargers pass because of medical concerns and Tagovailoa slides out of the top 10—at which point he'd likely be subject to a fall with an unclear end point.

The Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 20 seem like they would probably be the absolute floor of his draft stock, though we've seen more surprising falls in the past. 

If teams were fully comfortable with his health, Tagovailoa would be in the conversation with Joe Burrow for the top overall pick and be a consensus top-five pick. Until Burrow burst onto the scene with a historic 2019 season, Tagovailoa was considered a mortal lock for the No. 1 pick.

But no matter what Routt says, NFL teams are going to be more comfortable with what their own doctors say. All it takes is a couple wary evaluations for the free fall to begin.