Every NFL fans is begging Tua Tagovailoa to protect himself after headfirst tackle

The health of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is top of mind every time he takes the field now. After missing several weeks this season with another concussion, the fourth of his career dating back to 2017 at Alabama, there were some questions about whether he would return to the field ever again.

He has done that and, on Monday night, he made his second start since returning from the latest concussion. And after getting the Dolphins out to a 10-0 first-half lead, he made his first big mistake. Tagovailoa tried to feed the ball to Jaylen Waddle but was picked off by Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who took off up the sidelines.

That's where things got scary given Tua's history of head injuries.

Tagovailoa was ostensibly the last line of defense and put himself in line to make a play. But NFL fans across the country watching were left wincing as, inexplicably, the Dolphins signal-caller dove at Rozeboom headfirst to make the play and stop the return.

Tua Tagovailoa scares NFL fans senseless with headfirst tackle

Thankfully, Tagovailoa was not hurt on the play and got up just fine after it. That didn't diminish the fact that every Dolphins and NFL fan alike was holding their breath as he went headfirst into Rozeboom's lower half.

And after the play, the reaction was all the same: Tua seriously needs to do a better job protecting himself (NSFW Language Warning for some of these reactions).

To some degree, that's a tough question to ask. Tua is a competitor, which we've seen time and again. If he's going to try and make that tackle, though, he undeniably needs to do it much safer.

That really speaks to the quarterback's competitive nature too. Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins staff truly do need to reinforce how much Tua needs to be protecting himself.

Yeah, let's not do this again, Tua.

That's really what we're all trying to say here. Also, great shoutout to Major League, which I'm probably going to have to fire up after Monday Night Football after seeing this now.

We just want to see you healthy and on the field, man!

It's hard not to see these reactions and Tua continue to put himself in harm's way, though, and not question the quarterback's own decision-making beyond trying to make the tackle like that. He said that he wouldn't wear a guardian cap upon his return for personal reasons, whatever that means, which really seems reckless given his history.

If he's not going to wear it, though, the Dolphins and Tua himself need to simply do more to not be in these positions. Maybe just let someone else handle Rozeboom next time and get out of the play's way.