Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is still expected to be selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft if he decides to leave college and turn pro.
Last week, Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture in a game against Mississippi State, ending his season. The injury is considered to serious and could be career-threatening or career-altering.
However, word making rounds throughout NFL circles over the past is week is while he may not end up being the top-three draft pick he would have been had he not gotten injured, his draft stock is not expected to fall beyond the first round. This of course depends on the results of further medical evaluations as he recovers from his injury.
LSU’s Joe Burrow and Oregon’s Justin Herbert are expected to be the first two quarterbacks selected in next year’s draft. Tagovailoa is expected to make a full recovery and has not made a decision about his future.
As for his rehabilitation, Tagovailoa is expected to be restricted to extremely limited activity for the first six weeks. The goal will be to allow for the fracture to heal and then do imaging to confirm. From that point, he’ll begin his rehab with range of motion and weight-bearing activities. The goal will be for him to resume football activities at three months overall, with him possibly even running and throwing at that point.
Tagovailoa’s insurance provided by the University of Alabama did not include a loss-of-value policy, so he will not be able to recoup the money that he lost with his fall in draft position. That means he will feel the significant drop financially from the early round picks.
Tagovailoa only took the coverage the school offered him and did not opt for additional coverage. He will have the ability to collect if doctors rule he can never play again, as the school provided him with permanent total disability insurance.
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