Bills’ Dion Dawkins watched horrified when Tua Tagovailoa failed to slide: ‘It was the saddest thing’

An emotional Dion Dawkins couldn’t believe what he witnessed from the sidelines in Miami. The Buffalo Bills offensive tackle had a powerful statement on Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion and what happened the moment Tagovailoa made contact with Damar Hamlin late in the third quarter of the Bills’ victory over the Miami Dolphins. 

“It was the saddest thing. I promise you, it was the saddest thing,” Dawkins said, via 13 WHAM in Rochester. “We’re all just watching him run and we’re like ‘slide bro, slide bro, slide.’ And this game is so fast, it’s a game of inches. If he would have just slid an inch before … it’s such a sad thing. 

Tagovailoa suffered the third concussion of his career as a result of the hit, one that has ignited opinions on whether he should play in the NFL again. In the previous two concussions, Tagovailoa displayed the same crumpled “fencing” posture as he did in Thursday’s game. The posture showed Tagovailoa’s arms and hands bend unusually following contact to the head. 

All Dawkins could think about was the health of Tagovailoa and how he can recover from another head injury. Speaking for his Bills teammates, Dawkins — a Bills captain — said his team will be praying for a speedy recovery. 

“My prayers, my heart goes out to Tua and his family, his parents. I hope he’s gonna recover well,” Dawkins said. “This is a violent game and that shows it. I know everybody in this locker room will be praying for him. Even though we’re enemies, we’re family. 

“We’re all football players and we’re in this brotherhood together. And we all will tip our hats to Tua, and we will all get together one knee and pray for Tua and his family. It’s a sad thing.”