When NFL players have concussions, the mechanism for getting them back on the field activates, almost immediately. Players routinely progress through the five steps for returning to play only seven days after suffering a brain injury. Last year, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was diagnosed with a concussion after a Monday night game — and he was cleared to play only six days later.

After Tua Tagovailoa’s third official concussion (four, if we include the concussion in back-injury’s clothing), there’s none of the usual urgency to check the boxes so that he can play again. Instead, he has landed on injured reserve due to a concussion, for the second time in less than two years.

When has anyone else been placed on IR with a concussion? If it has happened at all, it hasn’t happened many times.

This isn’t about whether he’ll ever play again. Those are decisions that doctors and Tua will have to make. This is about whether we’ll see him again this year.

Before responsible long-term decisions can be made, the short-term impetus to get back on the field needs to be removed from the equation, entirely. Forget about trying to play. Focus on getting healthy. Focus on making good decisions. How can that be done without taking the possibility of playing in 2024 off the table?

In 2022, Tua became the face of concussions in the NFL. Every time he played, folks were holding their breath for the next hit that could cause the next concussion.

If he returns this year, that’ll happen again. And it won’t be a fluke if it does. Blows to the head happen all the time in football. It’s one of the primary risks for any football player.

Last week’s hit was closer to routine than devastating. It nevertheless caused Tua to immediately assume the fencing posture, proof positive of significant brain trauma.

We know he’ll miss at least four games. Once Week 7 comes and goes, will he be ready to step into a crucible that quite possibly will lead to another concussion? What if he gets another one this season?

No, this is very different from the usual situation, where a concussion becomes a speed bump. Tua’s latest concussion feels like something far bigger than that. Something that possibly will keep him out for the rest of the season, with the bigger and more permanent decision to be made after the dust settles on 2024.