Miami Dolphins

"The Dolphins did not take care of you. The fact they put you out there, frankly, If I were [Tua], I would not go back and play for the Dolphins, because this was not just a failure of the medical team, this was a failure of the coaching staff, and failure of ownership."

That's Chris Nowinski, one of the world's foremost experts on traumatic brain injuries, very much NOT mincing his words when it comes to the future of 24-year-old Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

And, whether it's in a Dolphins jersey or any of the other 31 teams, Nowinski believes Tua shouldn't see the field for a single snap the rest of the season.

"My advice would be, having been through it and knowing so many dead athlete stories where there was suicide or some aspect of CTE or some traumatic brain injury, do not go back this season."

Of course, the second-year signal caller was on the receiving end of an incredibly scary hit Thursday night ... as the Fins played the Bengals in Cincinnati.

After being slammed to the ground, Tagovailoa appeared to immediately lose consciousness ... and it was clear something was wrong.

Tua was placed on a stretcher and left the stadium in an ambulance, where he was taken to a local Cincy hospital for treatment.

To make matters worse, the game was only five days after Tagovailoa seemingly suffered a head injury against the Bills (Chris says he showed five signs of a potential concussion), but was allowed to return to the game.

As for his current condition, Tua was released from the hospital and was able to fly back to Miami, per reports ... where he's said to be resting at home in good spirits.

But, Chris says this is anything but a story with a happy ending ... 'cause there's real risk of long-term impact, and that's why Nowinski says Tua shouldn't play again this season.

If you're at all familiar with traumatic brain injuries and CTE, you've likely heard of Nowinski. The former WWE wrestler had his career cut short after sustaining a head injury ... and he recognized the sports world misunderstood the injury.

Chris went on to earn his Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience, and he co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the Boston University CTE Center ... where his work has been celebrated across the world.

Nowinski also had strong words for first-year Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel ... who told media after the game ... "the best news we can give is that everything is checked out that he didn't have anything more serious than a concussion."

"This is a statement of no faith in the coach," Chris flatly said.

"Really what he should be saying is it's nothing more serious than a traumatic brain injury that caused decerebrate posturing which is very rare, and a sign of a very serious injury."

There's much more. Nowinski also explains Tua's hand placement following the scary injury, and lays out the long-term effects with which he may now be forced to live.

Terrifying moment during "Thursday Night Football" ... Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was rushed to the hospital after suffering what appeared to be a significant head injury.

The 24-year-old signal-caller was injured in the second quarter of Miami's game against the Bengals ... when he was wrapped up by a defender and thrown to the turf.

Tagovailoa's head slammed off the ground hard -- and he immediately seemed to lose consciousness.

Trainers and team personnel raced to tend to him ... before they eventually strapped him to a backboard and transported him to a nearby hospital in Cincinnati.

The Dolphins say he, thankfully, "is conscious and has movement in all his extremities."

Tagovailoa had exited last week's game against the Bills after sustaining an injury on a similar play -- though he and the team told media members afterward he only suffered a back injury.

Story developing ...

Tua Tagovailoa was foolish for returning to the Bills game on Sunday after slamming his head on the turf ... so says famed neuropathologist Bennet Omalu -- who tells TMZ Sports the Dolphins quarterback put his life at risk by making the comeback.

Dr. Omalu -- who's the real-life inspiration for the famous Will Smith "Concussion" movie -- says that under no circumstances should Tagovailoa have come back into the contest in Miami after he was initially knocked out of it.

Omalu says he suspects Tagovailoa suffered a concussion based on everything he saw on the game's broadcast ... and he said the 24-year-old should have protected himself and his future and stayed on the sideline the rest of the day.

"Your life should be worth more to you than any amount of money," Omalu said. "Your life is worth more than $10 billion, 'cause you can't replace your life. You have only one life."

But Omalu, who discovered CTE, isn't faulting the NFL or the Dolphins one bit for allowing Tagovailoa back under center.

"The duty falls on the players," he said. "The NFL did not point a gun on his head and say, 'You must go back to play.' He could have said, 'No.'"

For Tagovailoa's part, he insisted he did not suffer a head injury during the play ... but rather, he said he hurt his back.

"I got up, and that's kind of why I stumbled," the signal-caller told reporters after Miami secured the 21-19 win over Buffalo. "My back kind of locked up on me. But for the most part, I'm good. Passed whatever concussion protocol they had."

A Josh Allen fan was roughed up badly outside of the Bills vs. Dolphins game on Sunday -- taking a foot straight to the face ... before he was kicked and punched repeatedly.

The incident all went down at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at some point in the midst of Buffalo's 21-19 loss to the 'Fins.

It's unclear what started the melee -- but footage from the scene shows a couple Dolphins fans got into it with two Bills fans ... and the Buffalo tandem got the worst of it by far.

You can see in the footage, both Bills fans were thrown to the ground ... and while the man in the Allen jersey was trying to get up, he got kicked in the teeth. The other Buffalo fan was jumped on as well.

Another person in an Allen jersey attempted to break things up -- but as the Buffalo fan was down -- a man in a Tua Tagovailoa jersey punched him in the head. Another shirtless guy jumped in and kicked him multiple times as well.

Bills OC Ken Dorsey was so pissed in the waning moments of Buffalo's loss to the Dolphins ... he absolutely LOST IT in the booth, slamming his headset and tablet!

Dorsey was frustrated the Bills couldn't get a play off as the clock ticked towards zero ... after receiver Isaiah McKenzie failed to get out of bounds after receiving a pass from Josh Allen.

Broadcast cameras showed Dorsey in the booth, and he was livid, taking out his frustration on his headset and tablet.

Allen tried to get the Bills' offense lined up for one final play, but time ran out ... and they ended up losing, 21-19, to the Dolphins -- their first loss on the season.

After the game, McKenzie said he was trying to get out of his bounds, but knew Tyler Bass' (Buffalo's place-kicker) range ... unfortunately for Buffalo, things didn't work out.

"There was nine seconds left, and I was trying to get to the hash," McKenzie said. "I kind of got bumped by going to the ref, and it just went down from there.

"If I could take it back, I would probably just go up field, get down, put it on the hash myself, and live to fight another down."

A huge fire broke out in the parking lot at the Dolphins vs. Patriots game on Sunday -- destroying several cars -- and according to at least one witness, it all started after someone left a tailgating grill on.

A spokesperson for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue tells TMZ Sports ... firefighters were called to Hard Rock Stadium at around 1:28 PM after multiple people had seen flames pouring out of cars just outside of the venue.

Thankfully, according to the spokesperson, "firefighters immediately worked to contain and place the fire under control" and there were no reported injuries.

Video shot by multiple people at the arena showed the inferno was massive -- causing huge amounts of black smoke to pour into the stadium.

One witness says the owners of the cars had no idea their rides were destroyed until they returned to the parking lot. Another said the blaze appeared to start after someone had failed to properly extinguish their BBQ.

The MDFR spokesperson said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

One of the car's owners, Scott Dellorfano, told NBC Miami that his Mercedes S63 -- plus $3k he had in the vehicle -- were destroyed in the fire.

Robert Kraft had a champion in his corner as New England kicked off its 2022 season ... with the Patriots owner hosting none other than Mike Tyson in his suite.

Iron Mike was on hand at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. ... where he watched as the Pats fell to the division rival Dolphins, 20-7.

Mike had a seat right next to Kraft, who was sitting next to his son, Jonathan, -- and the two appeared to be chummy throughout the game as the Pats and 'Fins duked it out on the field.

No word on what exactly led to the meetup ... but Mike and Kraft seemed to have a lot to talk about throughout the duration of the game.

The day didn't go without an awkward moment, though -- At one point, Tyson went to give Kraft a fist bump, who missed the cue, but the two managed to clean it up at the end.

The Miami Dolphins were forced to cancel practice on Thursday ... and it's all because a bunch of players can't stop puking.

The 'Fins were set to have a joint workout with the Philadelphia Eagles ... but as it turns out, some guys could barely sleep because they were blowing chunks all night.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo says some players thought all the vomiting was due to food poisoning ... but the team checked what everyone's been eating, and haven't found enough proof to back that theory.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel says the team believes it's a stomach bug going around ... and to be extra cautious, they decided to keep everyone home to make sure it doesn't spread.

Miami and Philly are set to play against each other on Saturday ... and so far, things are still set to go down according to plan.

Coach says he wanted to take extra caution to get everyone healthy for the matchup -- especially because the last week of preseason is crucial for so many guys who are trying to make the team.

As for how many players were affected, McDaniel says it's more than a few, but not half the team.

If Tyreek Hill ever steps into a boxing ring, he knows exactly who he wants to fight -- Jalen Ramsey!!

The topic came up during a recent episode of "BS w/ Jake Paul" -- the Problem Child's new show -- when the Dolphins star receiver was asked ... given the chance to fight anyone in the sports world, who would you box?

Paul's co-host, DCut, suggested Hill fight former NBA star Nate Robinson -- whom Jake viciously knocked out in his 2nd pro fight -- but Tyreek said that would be too easy.

He did, however, have an opponent in mind.

"I really want some of Jalen Ramsey though, for real," Hill said, "If we just being completely honest right here."

It makes sense -- one of the best receivers vs. one of the best cornerbacks.

But, Cheetah says there's no beef.

"I just wanna go at the bully," Hills explains.

Tyreek says he can fight, but it's something he chooses not to do during NFL games.

"I don't get into that," Hill said about fighting during a game, "because it's like wasted energy."

"I'm not finna waste my energy when I gotta come back and then cook you the next play. Why would I do that?"

BTW, Jake whispered ... we can make the Hill vs. Ramsey fight!

Shaquem Griffin -- the first one-handed player to be drafted by an NFL team -- is walking away from the sport at 27 years old.

The inspirational linebacker was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the 5th round in 2018 ... and spent 3 seasons with the organization, playing alongside his twin brother, Shaquill. He later joined the Miami Dolphins on a one-year deal in 2021 ... but was released before the season.

He later rejoined the 'Fins on the practice squad ... and was waived in October.

Meanwhile, Shaquill signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 ... and while Shaquem had interest from several teams, he says he didn't want to continue playing if it wasn't alongside his brother.

"Football had already given me so much, and the only thing I still really wanted from the game was to play with my brother again," Griffin said in the Players' Tribune.

"I know a lot of people might not understand that approach. There are so many guys out there working hard, just hoping for an opportunity, any opportunity, and here I am limiting them. Believe me, I get it."

Shaquem says he met with Roger Goodell, who offered him a position with the NFL Legends Community ... which will give him the opportunity to mentor young players.

The NFL is coming down hard on the Miami Dolphins, docking the org. two draft picks, including a 1st-round selection, for tampering with quarterback Tom Brady, the league announced on Tuesday.

Team owner Stephen Ross was also suspended until mid-October, and fined $1.5 million!

After a six-month investigation, the NFL says they concluded the organization violated the Anti-Tampering Policy on three separate occasions ... twice with TB12, and once with then-New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.

"The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity," Commissioner Roger Goodell said.

"I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition on tampering with both a head coach and a star player to the potential detriment of multiple clubs over a period of several years."

The investigation focused on whether team officials improperly attempted to communicate with Brady and Payton over a period of years. It also centered around a claim made by former head coach Brian Flores ... who says Ross incentivized him to lose, in an effort to get a higher draft pick.

The NFL found the Dolphins had "impermissible communications" in 2019-20 with TB12 when he was still a member of the Pats org. and in 2021 when he was Bucs QB.

According to the NFL, Ross and/or his business partner spoke with Brady and his agent, Don Yee, about the prospects of Tom becoming a minority owner of the Dolphins, and possibly playing for the team.

In 2022, the Dolphins again had forbidden communications with Yee, who also repped Payton, about bringing Sean on board as the team's head coach.

As for the allegations made by Flores, the league determined the Dolphins did not intentionally lose games during the 2019 season, and no one instructed BF to lose.

Flores issued a strong statement following the NFL's ruling, slamming Goodell and the league.

"I am thankful that the NFL’s investigator found my factual allegations against Stephen Ross are true," Flores wrote.

"At the same time, I am disappointed to learn that the investigator minimized Mr. Ross’s offers and pressure to tank games, especially when I wrote and submitted a letter at the time to Dolphins executives documenting my serious concerns regarding this subject at the time, which the investigator has in her possession."

Meanwhile, Ross released a statement, saying ... "As I have said all along, these allegations were false, malicious, and defamatory, and this issue is now put to rest."

"With regards to tampering, I strongly disagree with the conclusions and the punishment. However, I will accept the outcome because the most important thing is that there be no distractions for our team as we begin an exciting and winning season."

SR concluded by doubling down on his desire to win.

"I will not allow anything to get in the way of that."

Kevin Hart had a priceless reaction to ex-NFL player Channing Crowder's appreciation for nudist colonies ... going full roastmaster mode and clowning the dude on his own show!!

The ex-Dolphins linebacker opened up on his "The Pivot" podcast about how he and his wife of 11 years, Aja, like to take annual exhibitionist trips ... saying, "Once a year, we go to a nudist colony. We go to a place where like you walk in and everybody just gets naked and walks around."

Hart -- who was a guest on the podcast -- looked at CC in complete disbelief ... and asked, "You hear whatchu saying out loud, brother?!"

"Y'all just ... just hanging out, or y'all f***ing these people?"

Crowder admits there are some swingers around when they take their trips ... but explains they don't participate, they just "like being around naked people together."

When CC asks Hart if he's into that kinda stuff ... he shuts down the idea.

"To be honest with you, I have no desire to be around a bunch of people I don't know just sitting there naked," Hart said.

Hart then ends the funny convo with a joke, saying "I'm willing to bet a good number it ain't a lot of put-together people going through this little stage."

Teddy Bridgewater is calling on his fellow NFL players to quit pretending to be hard and start acting like role models ... releasing a lengthy message to all the guys who act "gangsta," but are really only "football tough."

The Miami Dolphins QB shared his thoughts on the matter in a social media post on Monday ... explaining how he's annoyed with players who act differently when they reach the top level.

"Tired of seeing football players portray this tough guy image or pretend he's gangsta," TB said. "You went to school, attended those classes, and some even got their college degree."

"So, don't wait until you inherit this legal money from the league to decide you want to be tough or portray a 'street image' cause it's kids that's looking up to everything we do."

Bridgewater admits there may be a few in the NFL who are really about that life ... but, "98.5% are only football tough.'"

At the end of the day, Bridgewater -- who graduated from Louisville in 2013 -- just wants kids to understand they can play football, go to school, do right and still get love from the people back home.

"Look at me," Bridgewater added. "I'm far from perfect, but I chose the ball route but I still can go to the hood and post up and it's all love."

"My people accept me for making all the right decisions and not falling victim or being tricked by the false image you see on IG from a lot of ball players."

Many NFL stars agreed with the Pro Bowler ... including Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs, DeSean Jackson and Micah Parsons who commented, "That's real 🔥🔥."

Henry Ruggs' former Alabama teammate, Jaylen Waddle, says he was shocked by the ex-Raiders star's arrest ... calling Ruggs both a "good person" and a "good dude."

Waddle explained his feelings on Ruggs' legal situation to Pacman Jones and Omar Kelly on the the "I Am Athlete" show this week ... saying he never would have thought Ruggs would be in the situation he's currently in.

In fact, Waddle said out of the star 'Bama wideouts who went to school together -- which also included Devonta Smith and Jerry Jeudy -- Ruggs was perhaps the best guy in the meeting rooms.

"Out of all us," Waddle said, "that'd be the person that you least expect something like that to happen to."

Waddle told Jones and Kelly that Ruggs was such a good friend, the two still keep in contact with each other to this day.

As we reported, Ruggs is facing decades behind bars after he was accused of driving drunk and killing Tina Tintor after he crashed his pricey sports car into the back of her Rav4.

Ruggs is currently out on bond while he awaits trial.

Waddle didn't want to comment too much on the situation due to the pending legal case -- but he did say the incident has made him more aware of his surroundings and behavior.

We might as well start giving Tyreek Hill speeding tickets at this point -- the former Chiefs wideout dusted an entire women's flag football team this week ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

Hill -- who recently inked a 4-year, $120 million ($72.2 million is guaranteed) contract with the Dolphins -- is by far one of the fastest players in the NFL ... and has even called out Usain Bolt for a race.

"Cheetah" is living up to his rep ... 'cause he outran the entire Lady Warriors Flag Football team at Hebrew Academy Miami Beach Middle School.

In the wild clip, Hill waits for the entire squad to get as close as possible before he suddenly plants in the ground and makes a cut up the field -- and then it's off to the races.

At the end, Hill even slowed down to give the ladies a chance to catch up to him and pull his flags ... but no dice.

Now in fairness, Hill -- who ran a 4.29 40-yard dash when he participated in the NFL combine -- clearly has the wheels to beat pretty much anyone in a race ... so the Lady Warriors shouldn't hang their heads at all.

Tyreek Hill was super pissy before facing the media in Miami for the first time ... but it had nothing to do with his mood -- the guy just had to drain the snake!!

The hilarious moment went down right before the superstar receiver was set to be introduced as a member of the Miami Dolphins ... with Hill getting up and heading out of the room right after new teammate Terron Armstead was done talking with reporters.

Less than two minutes later, the All-Pro took the stage and walked to the podium to take questions from the journalists ... even joking about the whole ordeal.

"I feel a whole lot better," Hill said, laughing. "I just didn't wanna be rude. I'm like, 'Yo, I do not know what to do right now, y'all."

When a reporter made a clever remark about how Hill's speed on the field is reflected in the bathroom, the Super Bowl champ reminded everyone about his perfect nickname.

"Quick, baby. Cheetah."

Now, since the dude was back rather quickly, we're assuming it was #1. If it was the other option ... well, let's not go there.

Hill joined the Dolphins this week after shockingly getting traded from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for 5 draft picks.