Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou was just doing his job of getting to the quarterback during their Week 4 Thursday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins.
However, his hit on Tua Tagovailoa took a frightening turn when the former Alabama standout manifested signs of a concussion.
The situation worsened when the third-year player was carried off the field on a stretcher.
The awkward alignment of his fingers indicated a serious concern.
Tupou has nothing to offer but remorse for his tackle.
Bengals DT Josh Tupou: “I didn’t realize how bad it was after the initial sack. I had no ill intentions of trying to hurt Tua. I was just trying to get him on the ground.”
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) September 30, 2022
As shared by ESPN’s Ben Baby, Tupou said, “I didn’t realize how bad it was after the initial sack. I had no ill intentions of trying to hurt Tua. I was just trying to get him on the ground.”
The nose tackle from the University of Colorado added, “I never want to hurt anybody in the NFL, especially another Polynesian brother.”
Tupou can have a sigh of relief after Tagovailoa was released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center despite suffering from head and neck injuries.
He also made the trip back to Miami with his team.
However, Tagovailoa isn’t off the hook yet, given the situation’s severity.
The Dolphins’ medical staff will run more tests to assess the real score with their starting quarterback.
A Glimpse Of Tupou’s NFL Career
He signed with the Bengals in 2017 after becoming an undrafted free agent.
Since then, he has been an asset to the team, especially in stopping the run.
However, an injury to his pectoral muscle limited him to eight games in 2018.
Tupou opted out of the 2020 NFL season due to COVID-19.
He came back a year later and played in all 17 regular-season games.
He started nine of those games, finishing with 12 tackles and playing 36.5 percent of Cincinnati’s defensive snaps.
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