Surgery Possible For Ryan Tannehill

While there was a hopeful report on Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill‘s injured left knee earlier Thursday, he’s not in the clear yet, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. An MRI on Tannehill’s knee came back inconclusive, writes Salguero, who hears that “all options remain on the table” – including surgery. Tannehill will go for a second opinion, adds Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter link).

Tannehill departed practice Thursday on the heels of a non-contact injury, after which the Dolphins feared the worst, per Salguero. If the 29-year-old’s knee issue actually does require him to miss time, it would force Miami to check into free agent options – whether they’re low-profile types or more polarizing options such as Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, Jay Cutler and Tony Romo. While Cutler and Romo are retired, the Dolphins could still kick the tires on either should Tannehill’s injury prove serious. Cutler, Chicago’s longtime starter, has a connection to Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, who was the Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2015.

As of now, the only healthy QBs on the Dolphins’ roster are Matt Moore, David Fales (one of Cutler’s ex-Chicago teammates) and 2016 seventh-round pick Brandon Doughty. Moore, to his credit, is a better reserve option than most – he stepped in late last season after Tannehill succumbed to a partial ACL tear and helped the Dolphins to a 2-1 finish en route to a 10-6 record. Moore completed 55 of 87 passes, averaged 8.3 yards per attempt and tossed eight touchdowns against three interceptions in his four appearances (three starts). The 32-year-old was also at the helm for the Dolphins’ wild-card round game against the Steelers, and while he fared OK statistically (29 of 36 for 289 yards with a touchdown and a pick), his club was on the wrong end of a 30-12 decision.