Tua Tagovailoa gets another glowing health report leading up to draft

There are a lot of concerns about Tua Tagovailoa’s health heading into Thursday night’s NFL Draft, but teams apparently do not need to worry about the former Alabama star’s surgically repaired hip.

All indications are that Tagovailoa’s rehab from the hip injury he suffered back in November has gone swimmingly. Just hours before the draft began on Thursday, there was another overwhelmingly positive report about Tagovailoa’s health. This one came from ESPN’s Stephania Bell, who spoke with the hip specialist who served as an independent evaluator for Tua’s recheck. According to that doctor, Tagovailoa’s X-rays were “pristine” and he looks as good as any patient can look five months after undergoing that particular hip procedure.

I spoke w/Dr. Thomas Byrd, hip specialist in Nashville; he was independent evaluator for Tua’s medical recheck. 3 things struck me:
1) his x-rays looked “pristine”
2) CT scan of right hip joint space mirrors the left
3) “looks as good as (he’s) ever seen 5 mos out” post-injury

— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) April 23, 2020

Of course, Tagovailoa being healthy at the moment does not address every concern teams have. The risk with drafting him is more about whether or not he will suffer a significant injury in the future.

The Miami Dolphins are the team that has been most frequently linked to Tagovailoa, and we still think they intend to draft him. There have been varying reports about what the Dolphins plan to do with the fifth overall pick, but it would be a surprise if they don’t end up with Tua.