After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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The Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. We've got good news. There's good news to pass along. After a few very scary moments with Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa lying on the field, and the video of his fingers and his limbs having seized up, and him being unable to open up his hands and flex his fingers, and potentially even having lost consciousness.

That part I don't know. But after we watched that on Thursday Night Football, Tua was released from the hospital. He was taken to a level one trauma center by ambulance from the stadium.

So the highest level of care in that situation. And after they checked him out, he was released from the hospital and got on the team plane. So he flew home with the team. We're going to let you hear from Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel immediately following this game. As you can imagine, a very emotional night for Mike to starting quarterback, his first time going through a situation like this as an NFL head coach. The teammates of Tua, some of whom know him going back to their Alabama days. If you're watching the broadcast on Amazon Prime, you maybe saw the concern and the fear on Jalen Waddles face. Jalen, a former teammate in Tuscaloosa. The two of them, again, they've known each other for years.

They've played together now in multiple places. Tyreek Hill and McDaniel walking off the field together talking. McDaniel, maybe Tua, or excuse me, maybe Tyreek Hill both trying to support one another. Really hard to go back to football. Even as I was watching the game and maybe it was the same for you, I didn't feel like football mattered. Now it's the job and injuries are a part of football. And you can see the results of a scary hit. Tua flung to the ground and then the resulting head and neck injuries having such visible impact on him. Even now I'm watching it again on the screens in front of me.

Gets whipped around, his head hits the turf and his fingers seize up in such awkward positions that you can't unsee it. Immediately, even before Al Michael said anything, I could tell, maybe you could tell as well. And I do appreciate that Al and the Amazon Prime team quickly consulted with a doctor and they were able to pass along what that meant for his fingers and his hands to seize up like that.

What does that mean? Why did that happen? But it was scary because we could all see it. And because initially at least, and again I don't know the answer to this question, whether or not he lost consciousness, but initially he appeared to be, if not dazed and confused, then out.

And all we could see were his hands up in the air and he clearly had lost his motor function at that moment. Definitely overshadowed the game in what was a massive crowd at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati to start off week number four. Now coming up in the hour, so in the next 30 minutes, we're going to catch up with a TV sports anchor who is from Miami, covers the Dolphins, but will be joining us from the stadium in Cincinnati.

He's still there. And so we're going to ask him what's the latest and what did he see and hear even as the team was getting ready to depart and head back to South Florida. So that is coming up within the hour here on CBS Sports Radio.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

For home loan solutions that fit your life, Rocket can. A lot of people speculating. And I understand it.

It makes sense. But when I say a lot of people speculating, I mean former players. Members of the NFL, fraternity, analysts, TV and sports radio hosts, fans, a lot of people taking to social media in the aftermath of seeing Tua lying on the field and then stretchered off in a neck brace. Instantly, the Dolphins were under a microscope and should be. But instantly, the questions about why Tua was playing, whether Tua should have been cleared to play. Remember, he was day to day for most of this week with a back injury. He was listed on the injury report going back to last Sunday when he missed a couple snaps. He was listed on the injury report as day to day with a back injury. We talked about this on Sunday night and through the week, Tua himself told us he was fine and explained that it was not a concussion, that he had cleared all concussion protocols, that in that Bills game when he was shoved backward by Matt Milano, even though his head snapped back and hit the ground and he got up and was wobbly, that it was not a head injury, it was a back injury that caused him to be wobbly. And that he had been cleared through all concussion protocols, which is why he was back out there on the field in the second half. Again, repeating what we heard from Mike McDaniel, from Tua, from the Dolphins this week. And still there was speculation that the Dolphins were lying, that it wasn't a back injury, that Tua had a concussion and shouldn't be allowed to participate in a Thursday night game that featured a very quick turnaround from Sunday. In fact, I'm watching Matt Milano shove him to the ground right now.

I'm sure you have seen the video over and over. Tua stands up, he tries to shake it off, and then as he's walking back toward the line of scrimmage, his legs buckle underneath him, two of his offensive linemen grab him and wrap him up and hold him there until the training staff can get to him, and then because it was late in the second quarter, he walks under his own power to the locker room, and then surprise, is back out there on the field. After being evaluated for a concussion at halftime of that game on Sunday, he's back out on the field seemingly having cleared concussion protocols and available to play, and the Dolphins won that game against the Bills in South Florida. So then he gets hurt, the hard hit clearly, head and neck impacted and affected when he slammed to the ground on a sack in the second quarter tonight, and right away it's a flood of reaction, and dare I say it, hot takes. Tua shouldn't have been playing, the Dolphins are screwing him, they don't care about his health, they only care about him being on the field, he obviously had a concussion, what is he doing out there? That's social media, but it was also coming from former players.

It was scary, and in that moment people react emotionally. I just want to remind you, and I'm not telling you the Dolphins followed the letter of the law because I wasn't there, I don't know, but it's not the Dolphins who clear players to get back on the field. It's not a team doctor that runs a player through concussion protocols, when that happens it's an independent neurologist that has to clear a player, and I know that there have been several situations over the last couple of years where, like this, a player appeared to be impacted by a hit to the head or by his head snapping back, somehow he gets back on the field, and it's obvious to all of the amateur doctors who are paying attention that he shouldn't be out there.

So the NFL has run into a couple situations where a player did clear protocols, or was declared clear, and still didn't seem right back out on the field, and the NFL has gone into investigations. All that to say, the Dolphins have nothing to do with Tua getting cleared. According to the rules, it's independent neurologists, independent doctors, and neither the Dolphins nor the league are supposed to be able to influence them or impact the decisions about players.

And I dare say, these doctors would lose their jobs and wouldn't be allowed to work again if that happens. So yes, it's easy to point fingers at the Dolphins because of how it looks, because of the optics, and just want to state again, I'm not telling you they didn't do anything wrong because I don't know. But we heard from Tua during the week that it wasn't a head injury, that it was a back injury, he explained it, he said he was cleared through concussion protocols, so if nothing else, Tua himself saying it would mean essentially that the team couldn't be held liable. Now I don't know if it goes to that point, but I do know the NFLPA is already investigating, was investigating what happened last week, and hadn't even gotten through that investigation before Tua suffers another injury, and this one is in fact head and neck and concussion protocols. And we'll wait to hear the results of those tests. But the NFL set up the system with independent neurologists and spotters who are independent, who can pull a player off the field if they do not feel that he is okay. If just by the eye test they don't think he's okay. So it's not Miami team doctors who put Tua back on the field last week, and it's not Miami team doctors that cleared him to play this week. At least as far as it comes to concussion protocols.

He has to be cleared by independent doctors. It was certainly scary. And again, we're going to talk to a member of the Miami media who is still at the stadium and will join us inside of the next half hour to give us the very latest on Tua who did get on the team plane and fly home. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We'll get to the highlights of this game coming up. It was a Bengals win, so now Cincinnati has two in a row, but Mike McDaniel speaking after the game about his quarterback.

It was a scary moment. He was evaluated for concussion, and he's in the concussion protocol. He was at the hospital.

I believe he's about to get discharged. That is not part of the deal that anyone signs up for, even though you know it's a possibility in football to have something that you have to get taken off on a stretcher. As all of his teammates, myself, we were all very, very concerned.

As you can imagine. It was one of those moments that. Puts football so far on the back burner that it's almost hard to imagine. Taking the next snap. Teddy Bridgewater having to come onto the field. They were still on offense, so Tyreek Hill and Jalen Watto, the offensive line.

Who would allow their quarterback to get thrown to the ground? They all had to take another snap. I think the series resulted in a missed field goal. Though I honestly don't remember a whole lot of the rest of the second quarter. The question immediately. Why was too clear to play?

What happened? How do you get back out on the field a few days after being wobbly against the Bills? We would have reported him having a head injury. I mean, that's that's why the NFL has these protocols. And there's not like every single NFL game that is played. There's an independent specialist that specializes in the specialty of brain matter. So, yeah, for me, as long as I'm coaching here, if there isn't, you know, I'm not going to fudge that whole that whole situation.

If there's any any sort of inclination that someone has a concussion, they go into concussion protocol. It's very strict without without. Yeah, people don't vary or stray. We don't mess with that.

Never have. And as long as I'm the head coach, that will never be an issue that you guys have to worry about. Mike McDaniel's new to the head coaching thing. We don't know him all that well.

I guess we can choose to believe him or we can not. Since it's such a limited sample size, but he seemed just as shaken up. As his team did. He seemed.

Not only emotional, but shocked himself. And he actually said. After the game, that had he not. Been required to continue coaching, he would have gone with Tua.

And actually, I read this, too. I'm not sure if he said it in his postgame press conference. Apparently, when Tua was down on the ground, so maybe he didn't lose consciousness. He was conscious in the ambulance, so we know that for sure.

But. Apparently, Tua called for him. That's what McDaniel said. That when Tua was thrown to the ground and was lying there, he called for Mike McDaniel. And that when Mike got to him. It was clear that something was wrong, that Tua wasn't himself.

It wasn't the same quarterback that the same player, the same person he's used to dealing with. Also scary. You imagine the vulnerability of Tua. If he's conscious, but he can't get his fingers or his hands to work and they've seized up. How scary that is for him. So again, the good news is that he went home with the team on their plane, headed from Cincinnati to Miami.

Man, what a week it's been for the Dolphins. Tua was evaluated at a local hospital in Cincinnati. He was conscious. He had movement in all of his extremities. That was the report from the Dolphins even before he was released.

And then he did get back to the stadium and go home on the team plane. We'll have the very latest with Josh Moser when he joins us from the stadium in Cincinnati in a few minutes. Coming up, excuse me, we'll hear more from both the Dolphins as well as the Bengals following Thursday Night Football.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. It's a different kind of start to one of our shows, but in a case like this, football becomes secondary. And there are a lot of questions surrounding Tua and whether or not he should have been playing tonight. Our final show of the workweek is also the start of week number four. We'll have the after hours game of the week poll once we decide what games to put into it.

Thanks. Baseball is everywhere you are this season with the MLB app. Enjoy the show from wherever you are when you download the free MLB app to your mobile device. Never miss a second of the action with coverage of in-game highlights, pitch by pitch features, select live broadcast coverage and more. Show support for your favorite team with customizable MLB club branded icons and tune in to exclusive premium content for every team in the league.

That is out of the ballpark. The MLB app is your ticket to all things baseball all the time. You can even get live notifications sent to your phone, watch and car. So you're always up to date on the biggest breaking news, scores and standings. The MLB app is your hub for live baseball everywhere you go. The number one source of live baseball on your Apple and Android devices is the official app of Major League Baseball. Download the MLB app today on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Additional subscriptions may be required. Major League Baseball trademarks used with permission. Some fans gear up for game day, but some fans follow their team every day. That's why the locked on podcast network has a daily podcast for your favorite MLB team.

Every trade, every overtime win, every game. Our local experts cover the biggest stories around your team every day. Search locked on plus your favorite MLB team on the Odyssey app or wherever you get podcasts. The locked on podcast network, your team every day. Some fans gear up for game day, but some fans follow their team every day. That's why the locked on podcast network has a daily podcast for your favorite MLB team. Every trade, every overtime win, every game. Our local experts cover the biggest stories around your team every day. Search locked on plus your favorite MLB team on the Odyssey app or wherever you get podcasts.

The locked on podcast network, your team every day. At the 47 yard line, two is down. He got body slammed, he got thrown down and they're coming out right now. Jimmy had time to get rid of it, instead he gets thrown down hard and he's not getting up.

Oh boy. I think a lot of people struggle. I know me personally that if I didn't have a job to do for the organization and the rest of the players and I didn't have that obligation in my mind, I would have tapped it. It's not something that is comfortable for anybody. It was not a situation that you want for any of your players or your team in general. It's some scary stuff.

I'm just glad that it worked out. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It clearly shaken Mike McDaniel even after the game was over. And the game is secondary once you have an injury or a moment like that where a player clearly has a head injury of some sort and has to be taken to the hospital. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

We will get the very latest with Josh Moser from Pecor Stadium. And we've got more from Mike McDaniel and the team because right now the Dolphins are under the microscope. How did Tua get cleared to play tonight? That's a question that needs to be asked and needs to be answered. It's easy to jump to conclusions. But I at least want to give the coach the benefit of the doubt because he clearly cares about his quarterback. He wouldn't want his quarterback to be out there and not in full possession of his senses or dealing with the effects of a concussion.

I think if you care about anyone you wouldn't want to put them in that situation. So to accuse Mike McDaniel of this or the Dolphins of throwing Tua out there when he's not ready or faking his concussion protocols would be to assume that he cares nothing about this young man. I can't jump to that.

I can't make that leap. Everything we know about McDaniel is that he does care about these players. These players clearly have developed a relationship with him even in such a short time. So it's hard to jump to that conclusion for the sake of a win, right? Because that would mean the coach doesn't care. How do you feel about your friends or your family or teammates that you've played with in the past? You wouldn't want them to be in harm's way and it's hard for me to make that leap.

Again, these are independent doctors. So I can understand why McDaniel gets emotional when he's asked if he has regrets about allowing Tua to play again last week and him being cleared to play this week. Do you feel like in hindsight you maybe should have done or could have done differently after he went down? Absolutely not. Absolutely not.

If I would have, that would be irresponsible in the first place and I shouldn't be in this position. I do not have any absolutely zero patience for or will ever put a player in a position for them to be in harm's way. That is like not what I'm about at all and no outcome of a game would ever influence me being irresponsible as the head coach of the football team. I've seen and heard that soundbite from Mike McDaniel multiple times now. Absolutely not.

Absolutely not. I would never put a player in harm's way simply to impact the outcome of a game and I do want to believe him. Again, we'll talk with Josh Moser from Cincinnati when he joins us following the update. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio.

Yes, there was a game. Yes, the Cincinnati Bengals came away with a win. Zach Taylor and his Bengals on a quick turnaround after last Sunday. We got a great team, man. I love this team.

I love everything about them. They didn't hesitate for one second after those first two weeks when all the noise was getting loud about the expectations. They didn't let that affect them for one second.

They just came out there and answered the bell and responded two consecutive weeks. Just really proud of them on this stage against that team. That's a really good football team. They're going to win a lot of games and I just thought they really handled every moment in this game exactly how we needed to, especially in the second half. Turnovers, capitalizing on turnovers with touchdowns, special teams stepping up big and that was just a great way to win a Thursday night game. On offense, we're finding our stride. Defense has been great all year. We're starting to click on all cylinders. We can keep getting better on offense. There was a spell halfway through the game right there that we didn't put any points on the board, but I thought we responded well. Scored points when we needed to. Defense is going to keep playing great.

That's what they do. Just like I said, after the two losses, we just got two wins. It's still a long season.

We still got a long ways to go. It doesn't mean anything if we go out and lose the next 13 games. So we're going to enjoy this win.

Good point. Enjoy the long weekend. Come back ready to go next week. Joe Burrow, 20 of 31 tonight for 287 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He only got sacked one time. So that's noteworthy because in the first two games, Burrow was sacked a total of 13 times behind a newly constructed, newly rebuilt offensive line. And so here are the Bengals who've won back to back games.

And we know the AFC North is going to be uber competitive. He was able to allow the place to unfold, allow his receivers to get downfield. T. Higgins hauled in a 59 yarder among his seven catches. Jamar Chase, a 36 yarder. Tyler Boyd, 43 yards downfield. There were multiple chunk plays between Burrow having time to throw and his receivers having room to operate. Joe Mixon also picked up his first touchdown of the season. So you can now see and be reminded of the number of playmakers the Bengals have.

But when Joe Burrow does not have the time to stay in there in the pocket and go through his progressions and allow his receivers to get downfield because he's under siege, well then you don't get to use all these playmakers. So this is more like the Bengals that we saw from the end of last season, the playoffs and then obviously on into the Super Bowl. Dolphins meanwhile suffer their first loss of the game and we're going to get the very latest on Tua coming up in moments.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page. It's our final show of the work week. I can't decide if this week went fast or dragged.

It's just all a big blur. But we are in. Some fans gear up for game day, but some fans follow their team every day. That's why the locked on podcast network has a daily podcast for your favorite MLB team.

Every trade, every overtime win, every game. Our local experts cover the biggest stories around your team every day. Search locked on plus your favorite MLB team on the Odyssey app or wherever you get podcasts. We'll see you next time.

We'll see you next time. The locked on podcast network, your team every day. Week number four.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Tough loss tonight, man. You know, it's tough walking away from a game like tonight, especially given the circumstances. Seeing Tua hearing the news from Coach about Tua, his status. You know, we're looking forward to just seeing him flying back home in that moment. I think we saw how everyone felt about Tua. He's, you know, a captain on his team, a leader, and guys have so much respect for him.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The voice of Teddy Bridgewater following the Dolphins' first loss of the season, but far more concerned about starting quarterback Tua Taika Valoa, who was taken to the hospital when his head hit the ground again, and he had to be carried off on a stretcher. The head and neck injuries, the Dolphins announced, though he was released from the hospital to fly home on the team plane.

That much we know. We want to get more details now. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio from Cincinnati and Pecor Stadium. Josh Moser is joining us, and he is Finn's reporter, so Dolphins reporter for WSVN, their main sports anchor with the team on the road in Cincinnati. Josh, what is the latest for Tua, since obviously that's the biggest story to come out of tonight?

The best news of the night. Tua was able to come back to the stadium after being released from the hospital. I saw him and spoke to him. He was wearing scrubs and a neck brace. He was choking. He was his jovial self, so it looks like he appeared to be very, very normal. Luckily, his parents were here at the game to watch him live, so they were able to get to the hospital, be there with him, and Tua was able to fly back with the team on the team plane, was able to kiss his mom and his dad goodbye before he got onto that flight.

So it appears as of now, Tua is okay from a normal person perspective. Now it's just a question of when will he pass protocols and be ready to play football again. You get a little bit of a mini bye week here for the Dolphins.

They've got the Jets coming up in week five at their place. Does he remember what happened? Did he say anything about getting sacked? He did not. It was very brief, just kind of, hey, just make sure you're good, and that was it. There was no official media.

They were kind of just telling everyone to stay away, was able to sneak in for a quick hello, and that was it. Amazing that he was joking and smiling and able to walk around under his own power, considering he was down on the field for almost ten minutes. Well, the big question, of course, is about whether he should have been playing now that we know he's okay. What did the Dolphins, specifically Mike McDaniel, say after the game?

Well, Mike was asked directly point blank if he would have done anything differently about Tua following the hit he took last week against the Bills by linebacker Matt Milano. It looked really bad on TV. He was taken down. It looked like his head hit the turf. He got up, was very woozy, appeared dazed, and the Dolphins came out and said that it was a back injury. Tua said it was a back injury, and there was nothing involved with the head. Well, then the NFLPA came out and said, hey, we want to start an investigation and look into this, but Mike McDaniel was asked about this following tonight's game, and he says absolutely not. He wouldn't do anything differently last week knowing what happened tonight. He says the players' health is of the utmost importance, and we followed the protocols and wouldn't have changed anything.

But it's just hard as a fan when you see Tua's fingers on TV cringe the way that they did after taking that hit and then just seeing visually the hit that he took last week. It's just a terrible coincidence, but luckily he was able to get released from the hospital and fly back with the team. Knowing what you know of Coach McDaniel, and I know it's only been a few months, do you believe him?

I do. He hasn't given us a reason not to, and he basically says that there's a third party that follows all the medical tests, and he says he listens to the advice of the medical people. So I guess if there were to be something sinister going on, it would come from the medical side, but that would be a huge accusation. So I think we're going to have to wait and see what the NFLPA finds out in their investigation to see if there was actual proper protocol, but that relates to the Bills game. It just looks bad because of the bang-bang effect with this, but I don't think he would have any reason to lie.

You hope a person in that position would not lie, but yes, in my opinion, I would say that yes, it was credible. Josh Moser is with us from the stadium in Cincinnati following Thursday Night Football and a scary moment with Tua Tungovoloa, though he spoke to him after the game, and he was able to fly home with a team on their plane. Josh is with WSVN out of Miami, and it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Obviously lots of ties on the Dolphins team to Tua even prior to him getting into the NFL. What did his teammates have to say about those few minutes when he was lying on the field? Jalen Waddle was really shaken up, and he's very serious about this. They go back to the Alabama days, and talking to him and a lot of these other players on the team, they haven't been on the field when a player's been structured off when you're dealing with a head-and-neck situation.

So then it's dealing with that of just what happened. This play happened with roughly six minutes remaining in the second quarter. He was able to sneak down to the locker room in the halftime, and you could see the players' faces. Their helmets were off, they were taking their hands and just rubbing it through their hair. Their eyes were really big, like, what just happened?

What do we do now? And the coaching staff was looking around like, what do we do? And they basically said, hey, the show must go on. As terrible as that quote is, the game had to continue, and you could tell that the players were really feeling bad for Tua, especially his offensive line. So it's a Connor Williams starting center, and you could just see it in his face that it's just like, you know, you can't let a quarterback get hit like that. And then if you go back on the replay, yes, he could have gotten rid of the ball a little bit quickly, could have thrown the ball away, but the sack was the sack, and you never want to see your quarterback go down like that. And I think now in the days of social media and especially Twitter and the reaction from all of the other players and everyone, it's tough, and the players got back to the locker room, and they saw all of that.

And I think it really hit them. They said that the game was secondary, if not tertiary, to Tua's health and his well-being with his family. Tua just got married. So there's other people in play now as it relates to Tua and his normal life outside of football. That was really the message from the locker room. And then they found out that he was going to be able to fly home on the plane. So I think the plane ride at least is a great sign where he can interact with his teammates and be around them.

And hopefully from here, we will find out what the next steps are. That's what struck me, Josh, is that regardless of whether or not the Dolphins are telling the truth and actually did go through the proper channels and the concussion protocols and Tua was cleared independently last week against the Bills, the tide on social media from former players, from people who work in the business, and from fans, it's overwhelming, already assuming the Dolphins did this to Tua and didn't take care of his health and didn't pay attention to the signs and allowed him to play even though he clearly wasn't right. It seems like, and I know this is social media, but it seems like it's a battle they can't win. They've already been branded as a team that threw him out there without any regard for his well-being.

I think that's exactly it. And when you look at the video, you know, specifically and the timing of this and what happens in back-to-back weeks, and we're not even talking a full week. We're talking just a few days ago. This happened on Sunday. So it's really, really quick turnaround here. So we're talking not even a week and the wobbliness and the woosiness that you could see Tua after the Bills play to now this play with his hands. It's a lot for people to see. They haven't seen something like that before.

You know, Ryan Chazier comes to mind and he was tweeting stuff out. And luckily you've got the University of Cincinnati Medical Center here at the Trauma One Center. So it's the highest level. It's the best care he could get in the city. So you're thankful for that aspect of it. But yeah, in this day and age and social media, you're guilty until you're proven innocent, basically.

And it's tough. I don't know from a PR perspective, you know, what the move is here. You say the doctor, you know, they went through the protocol. That's all you can say. But will we ever know? You know, hopefully, you know, the NFLPA will find something out. But, you know, Tua passed the initial concussion test from what the team said last week against the Bills. Tonight, we haven't been given the results of what took place. We just know that he was taken to the hospital. I can say that they cut everything off of Tua.

He said that's the one thing that I didn't mention. They just cut the whole jersey off everything. So he was in scrubs and the neck breaks tonight, but was walking and was jovial. And it looks like it could have been a lot worse. He seemed okay. Such a relief there. Josh Moser is with us from Cincinnati. He's the main sports anchor for WSVN in Miami.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. What was it like when Tua was down on the field and they were bringing a stretcher out? Ominous. It's really the only word that comes to mind. You think worst case scenario. You're thinking, oh, my God, this guy could never walk again.

You're thinking that he's not going to have a normal life. It was awful. This was the largest crowd ever at a Cincinnati Bengals game. And this place was rocking and you could hear a pin drop. Mouths were open.

No one was saying anything. It was just like, please show some sign of movement. And his legs were not moving.

And then luckily we found out the hospital. He was moving his extremities. And then you could just see the players emotion on their faces when you have a couple of the guys that are really close to him. And they're watching their body language. They're thinking the same thing.

Like, oh, my God, this is it. And then for them, they got to flip the switch and somehow go play football. The game had to continue. And that was one of the harder things that was discussed in the locker room after the game.

How do you do that? And Teddy Bridgewater is the backup for this team. He's from South Florida. The Dolphins paid him six and a half million dollars to come be the backup for Tua.

He's the second highest paid backup in the league behind Jimmy Garoppolo, who's now starting in San Francisco. So, you know, they believe that the pieces are there. They're still in first place in the, you know, division, which is crazy to say. We're talking about winning football games.

You know, it's an injury. It's the other side of how you can look at it. So there's the human side and there's the football side. There's the business side and it kind of is all colliding.

And now it has its own voice on social media. And welcome to the NFL in primetime in 2022. Obviously, the football was secondary on this night, and I don't really want to talk much about the game because it's hard to separate the Dolphins from Tua's injury and how they played after the fact. But they are a month into their season, Josh.

So before I let you go, how would you evaluate this first month? What stands out to you? A lot of things stand out. Top of mind is just how much the players have come together under new head coach Mike McDaniel.

People had no idea in the outside world who he was and if this guy was it. You know, then the fourth come out that, you know, Sean Payton was being tampered with to come take over this team. And he has really brought this team together. He's very loose, very quirky, great football mind, and they really like playing for him. A true players coach.

I think he really fits the mold and he's his true authentic self and the players are buying it. I think at the beginning of the season, when you look at the gauntlet of what the first four weeks were for this team, a three and one record, people had him two and two at best. So with tonight's loss, it's, you know, a pretty good thing that they're still three and one. They're still in first place in the division. You beat the bills who you haven't beaten. You beat Lamar Jackson, who's in MVP form again, and you beat Phil Belichick.

I mean, people have said, no way that would have happened. So I think those are probably the biggest takeaways and this team could get better. They've got their corner, Byron Jones, who's coming back off the public. They've got to get baby and Howard healthy. They need to get their left tackle.

Toronto arms are healthy. He was in a boot after the game. He couldn't even put his shoe on.

He's been dealing with a toe injury. So it's a long season, but the first quarter to go three and one, you know, I think they'll take it. But, you know, this team wants to make the playoffs and not only they want to make the playoffs, they want to win a playoff game. And that hasn't happened with dolphins franchise in more than 20 years. What else could happen this week?

Really? The hurricane going through Ford. I know Miami missed a lot of it, but still the dolphins being on the road while someone else is using their practice facility. A Thursday night game on a quick turnaround the questions about to anyway, then his injury having to play a game. I mean, the Dolphins have had a pretty busy and crazy last four days. Yeah, it's hard to put in perspective and the heat the NBA team had their training camp in the Bahamas. They almost had to cancel it because of Hurricane Ian. So they're dealing with it. You've got the Panthers, the hockey team starting up. They've got their they have their preseason home opener tonight. So Miami quietly becoming a pretty good little sports town, even though not a lot of people are from there or you know, they have other interests other than sports, but a lot is happening. And yeah, certainly wishing everyone to stay safe in Florida. It's wild.

It puts things in perspective when you're able to step back a little bit. Definitely does. Josh Moser from WSVN in South Florida there in Cincinnati. You can find him on Twitter at the Mose knows really good to talk to you. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes. I know it's been a really busy and emotional evening, but we appreciate it and safe travels. Of course. Thank you very much.

Appreciate you. Josh Moser joining us from pay course stadium in Cincinnati. So still there finishing up his work, but the very latest if you missed the beginning of our conversation, he spoke to two up to what was there back at the stadium with his parents.

He had a neck brace on. He was joining the team to get on the bus to go to the team plane and fly home to South Florida with his teammates. So again, he spoke to Tua. He was jovial.

He was laughing and I know appearances can be deceiving. But according to Josh, he seemed like the same old Tua, which is great news. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio home to all the jaw dropping moments home to all the best plays in the league home to your favorite players from the cities you love MLB TV is the home of streaming baseball. Get your ticket to out of market games live or on demand across all your favorite supported devices.

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