Tua Tagovailoa's obligation should be to his health, not his teammates

Tua Tagovailoa is going to play football again, against the wishes of many people, including me. It's a matter of when, not if, the Miami Dolphins star steps back onto the gridiron, puts his helmet on, and spins the football off of his left hand.

The Dolphins offense has been stuck in mud since Tua's injury in Week 2 against the Bills. In three games without him, Miami's offense has averaged a little over eight points-per-game. They managed to win on Sunday, defeating the New England Patriots 15-10 to move their record to 2-3, keeping them alive in the AFC playoff race.

It's the win on Sunday that worries me. It worries me that Tua is going to try to come back before he should. The Dolphins put him on IR following Week 2, meaning he has to sit out four games. He's now sat three, with only one more game to go before he's eligible to return. The Dolphins have a bye week next week, and then play the Colts on the road. Tua would be eligible to play on October 27th in a home game against the Cardinals.

I'm sure that's the date he is eyeing, though Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel has consistently said that there's no timetable. Hopefully they will keep him out until he is 100% ready, cleared by a multitude of doctors, and don't succumb to the pressure of needing their QB back to have a shot at making a playoff run.

TMZ caught up with Manti Te'o last week. The former Notre Dame star LB is a family friend of the Tagovailoa's. In speaking with TMZ, Te'o said that it's "no surprise to him" that Tua is ramping up to try to play football again, though Te'o himself previously said he hoped Tua would walk away from the game in the aftermath of the latest concussion.

Te'o added "that's just Tua being Tua. He loves the game. He feels an obligation to his teammates. That's just who he is. He plays hurt."

I sincerely hope that feeling an obligation to his teammates is not the driving force behind Tua's decision to get back to the football field. As a competitor, you get it. Him watching the Miami offense struggle, the replacement quarterbacks struggling to get the ball to Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, has to be tough to stomach.

Knowing that he could get back with the Dolphins now at worst 2-4, still very much alive in the playoff chase, is undoubtedly fueling him. Had Miami lost on Sunday, and gone on to lose to the Colts in two weeks and sat at 1-5, then maybe Tua could accept the fact the season was lost and spent the rest of the season on the sideline.

Instead, Miami's win makes it more likely that Tua tries to return at the end of the month. I hope this is a decision that will be made in conjunction with the doctors and his family, ignoring any sense of obligation he might feel to try to salvage one single season of football.

Because in the grand scheme of things, one singular season is a flash in the pan; a moment in time that will undoubtedly be forgotten in just a few short years.