2 min read • April 11, 2020
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The former Alabama starting quarterback who suffered a right hip fracture dislocation which lead to season ending surgery, says he is 100% healthy and could play his rookie season. I agree with part of this statement, as we have said all along, if he does not have avascular necrosis (AVN.; loss of blood flow to the hip) he can play in his rookie season. If he doesn't start in September it will be more of a coaching decision ala Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. Given the lack of an offseason program, it may be hard for any first year QB to be tabbed the opening day starter. Physically he is on track from what we expected but it is a reach to think he is 100% healthy. In evaluating the videos circulating the web and posted by Tagovailoa himself, I still see him favoring the right side and is clearly not 100% however he does look very mobile and his footwork is good. Going into the draft, Tagovailoa already projects to be more mobile than the majority of starting NFL quarterbacks and should be ready in September. There is one more hurdle to clear and with the travel restrictions in place due to COVID-19, there is no combine medical recheck but next week he will get an MRI follow up on the right hip to see how he has reacted to his workout stress. This is also done to have one more data point to ensure no loss of blood flow or AVN. Tagovailoa is making the decision to pass him up difficult for general managers atop the draft. Any health issue may not arise until later on in his career in the form of post-traumatic arthritis. In the short term, there is minimal worry about his current health and injury history which includes operations to both ankles on top of the ongoing hip issue. We have previously written that Tua should not be downgraded for the ankle surgeries. Given that the combine medical recheck was cancelled, Tagovailoa had an independent third party physical today and those results will be forwarded to all team physicians. Of course the reports were very favorable as relayed by his agent. The next step is the MRI results which will provide a clear outlook on the progress Tagovailoa has made.
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