Ryan Tannehill - Pro Football Rumors

Ryan Tannehill Unlikely To Need ACL Surgery

January 30th, 2017 at 8:28am CST by Sam Robinson

Ryan Tannehill‘s offseason recovery timetable shouldn’t result in the Dolphins quarterback missing any regular-season time as a result of his knee injury. He won’t need a full reconstructive surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports, noting Tannehill is expected to be fine well before the start of next season.

Tannehill will undergo another MRI today, per Rapoport, but his injured knee is believed to be stable enough the team feels surgery won’t be necessary. The 28-year-old passer injured his knee more than five weeks ago, but Dolphins executive VP Mike Tannenbaum didn’t rule out surgery when discussing this last week, despite the injury having occurred some time ago. Reconstructive surgery would have delayed Tannehill’s recovery process to the point missed games in 2017 were possible after the Dolphins put off this prospect this due to the prospect of a Tannehill return during the 2016 playoffs.

The signal-caller’s MCL has provided more trouble than the partially torn ACL, Rapoport notes, but MCL sprains aren’t surgery-inducing. Tannehill did undergo a Dr. James Andrews-performed healing procedure and may trek to Germany for a form of platelet rich-plasma treatment. And a knee brace will likely come into play for the quarterback moving forward. This said, after “countless” rehab exercises to this point, the Dolphins are preparing to have Tannehill return to work during the offseason.

Dolphins Still Mulling Surgery For Ryan Tannehill

January 25th, 2017 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Nearly a month into the Dolphins’ offseason, a decision still hasn’t arrived on how to proceed regarding Ryan Tannehill‘s knee. The team did not elect to send its franchise quarterback in for surgery after his late-season knee injury, but that is still on the table despite Tannehill injuring his knee in Week 14, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports.

Tannehill could have undergone surgery in December but was determined to attempt to play for the Dolphins in the playoffs. That did not end up coming to fruition, with longtime backup Matt Moore starting in a blowout wild-card loss to the Steelers. Tannehill practiced twice that week, the only time he returned to the field after the ACL/MCL sprain. But the team didn’t place the passer on IR due to the attempt at a return that could have been damaging long-term, given the reinjury risk, and that’s delayed his offseason timetable.

As Beasley points out, the rehab for an ACL surgery is up to nine months, which would eat into Tannehill’s sixth season. That seems unlikely, but the longer the Dolphins wait would further stall Tannehill’s recovery, in the event he does end up requiring surgery. Dolphins executive VP Mike Tannenbaum said nothing’s been decided yet and dodged a question when asked if Tannehill needed another MRI. This stands to put Tannehill’s offseason workload in question.

The worst-case scenario for Tannehill’s present situation could be Justin Houston, who suffered a late-season knee injury in 2015 before attempting to make a return in the playoffs. Said comeback did not yield much of an impact and helped induce a February surgery, and ultimately a 2016 season marred by knee trouble. While the 28-year-old Tannehill doesn’t play as strenuous of a position, he’s more important to his team. So, this is a situation worth monitoring as the offseason continues.

Extra Points: Stafford, Boldin, Tice, McCoy

January 8th, 2017 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Parks

As the Dolphins and Steelers do battle, let’s take a look at some notes from around the league:

Lions quarterback Matt Stafford will not need surgery on his injured right middle finger, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. Stafford was excellent for much of the season, but he completed just 58.6% of his passes for four touchdowns and five interceptions after the injury, and he could get nothing going in a frustrating season-ending loss to Seattle last night.
Lions WR Anquan Boldin had a nice first season in Detroit, and the 36-year-old wideout, who posted 67 catches for 584 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns, plans to return for his 15th season in the league in 2017, according to Nate Atkins of MLive.com.
The contract for Raiders O-line coach Mike Tice is up, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, but Oakland has prioritized bringing him back. That makes sense, as the team is sending three offensive linemen to the Pro Bowl this year.
Former Chargers head coach Mike McCoy will apparently not be unemployed for long. Rapoport tweets that McCoy is largely considered the top offensive coordinator available and has been mentioned as many teams’ offensive coordinator of choice.
Even if the Dolphins were to pull off the upset in Pittsburgh this afternoon, the team is not counting on Ryan Tannehill to return next week, according to Rapoport (via Twitter). Tannehill was, at least, able to practice on Friday.
Ohio State WR Noah Brown will enter the NFL draft, according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). The 6-2, 218-pound wideout had a breakout year for the Buckeyes, and is currently projected to be selected in the second or third round of the draft.
In a series of articles, OverTheCap.com offers a preview of the strongest and weakest offensive positions in this year’s free agent class, examines which linebackers could become cap casualties, and projects the 2017 compensatory picks.

Dolphins Release DE Jason Jones

January 6th, 2017 at 12:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The Dolphins announced that they have released defensive end Jason Jones. Jones recently returned from suspension.

Miami decided this week that they would not be using Jones in the first-round playoff game against the Steelers, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. It’s possible that Jones reacted poorly to that news, because the Dolphins have decided they do not want to have Jones around at all. Jones, 30, appeared in ten Dolphins games this season. He posted 2.5 sacks, 23 tackles, and a fumble recovery. With Jones out, Mario Williams will play Sunday against Pittsburgh.

Meanwhile, in another surprising development, quarterback Ryan Tannehill returned to practice today. Previous reports indicated that Tannehill would definitely not play this weekend, but today’s news could open the door slightly to that possibility. At minimum, it’s a promising sign for his availability going forward, should Miami win this weekend.

Ryan Tannehill Won’t Start For Dolphins

January 5th, 2017 at 9:19am CST by Zachary Links

Ryan Tannehill has been ruled out for this week’s game, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (on Twitter). In his place, Matt Moore will get the start.

This week, coach Adam Gase said that the team would only have to get Tannehill on the field for one practice session in order for him to start, at the same time, he admitted they were running out of time to make that happen. Today’s news was somewhat expected for Miami, but it’s still disappointing. This year, Tannehill bounced back from a slow start and performed like a top ten quarterback once he got into a rhythm. In his 13 games this season, Tannehill completed a career-high 67.1% of his passes with 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He finished out the year as Pro Football Focus’ No. 13 ranked QB, several spots ahead of Sunday’s opposing signal caller, Ben Roethlisberger.

Moore, 32, has 28 regular season starts on his resume. In his five games and three starts this year, he has completed 55 of 87 passes (63.2%) with eight touchdowns against three interceptions.

Latest On Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill

January 4th, 2017 at 2:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Dolphins coach Adam Gase says Ryan Tannehill won’t practice today (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com). If he gets one day of practice, that will be enough for Miami to play him on Sunday. However, Gase admits the Dolphins “may run out of time this week” (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com).

Miami’s original plan was to bring Tannehill back for Week 17 against the Patriots, but they decided to play it safe since they already had a 92% chance of making the postseason. With the ultra-tough Steelers on the docket, however, the Fins are eager to get their No. 1 QB back.

Tannehill was able to shed the cast on his injured leg some time ago, so he is at least moving in the right direction. Initially feared to be an ACL tear, Tannehill is dealing with an ACL/MCL sprain. That’s no walk in the park, but not as grim as it could be.

In his 13 games this season, Tannehill has completed a career-high 67.1% of his passes with 19 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. If Tannehill is unable to go, quarterback Matt Moore will start in his place.

Ryan Tannehill Could Return For Postseason?

December 25th, 2016 at 5:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Dolphins are almost assured of making the playoffs as a AFC Wild Card team — FiveThirtyEight gives Miami a 92% chance of earning a postseason berth after yesterday’s win over the Bills — and quarterback Ryan Tannehill could potentially return in time for a Super Bowl run, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. Tannehill has shed his cast from his injured left leg, and there is “real reason for optimism” that the Dolphins signal-caller could come back “at some point” during the tournament.

Miami’s orginal plan was to consider Tannehill for Week 17 against the Patriots, but the Dolphins could clinch a playoff berth without beating New England — should the Broncos lose to the Chiefs tonight — so that would seemingly provide an extra week of rest while Miami prepares for what would be its first playoff game in eight years. However, news last week painted a grim picture for a Tannehill return, with his MCL injury being more severe than initially believed.

Backup quarterback Matt Moore has played well in two starts in relief of Tannehill, throwing six touchdowns against two interceptions while leading the Dolphins to consecutive victories. Still, Miami would surely prefer to turn back to Tannehill if he can return for a Wild Card weekend matchup against either the Steelers (the likely AFC North winner) or the Texans.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Latest On Ryan Tannehill’s Injury

December 18th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins blew the Jets out of the water last night behind a terrific performance from backup quarterback Matt Moore, but the aftermath of the win brought with it some potentially bad news about No. 1 signal-caller Ryan Tannehill.

Tannehill, of course, was pulled from last week’s game against the Cardinals with what was initially feared to be a full ACL tear, but which was later reported to be an ACL/MCL sprain (a partial, but incomplete tear of those ligaments). After last night’s game, however, Adam H. Beasley and Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald passed along a report from the NBC/NFL Network broadcast team that Tannehill in fact tore the MCL off his knee completely, a report ostensibly substantiated by the fact that he spent the night in a full leg cast and walked with a noticeable limp and the assistance of a crutch.

Tannehill, though, lent some clarity to the situation, observing that his ligaments are not fully torn and that he has a Grade 2 sprain rather than a Grade 3 (link via Salguero). Said Tannehill, “It’s not a Grade 3. A Grade 3 sprain is completely torn. A sprain could be a torn anything. It’s not completely torn all the way off but definitely there’s damage. It’s categorized as a Grade 2 so there’s still some integrity there.”

That is consistent with this week’s earlier reports, and it explains why Tannehill is hopeful that rehabilitation and muscle strengthening will return enough stability to the knee to rule out the need for surgery. Salguero does note, however, that reconstructive surgery remains a distinct possibility, which Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms (Twitter links). Rapoport adds that, despite Miami’s optimism, Tannhill is “very uncertain” to return to action this season.

With last night’s win, the Dolphins assured themselves of a winning season and, more importantly, maintained control of their own playoff destiny. While a division title is a remote possibility, Miami can grab a wild card spot by winning their final two games against the Bills and Patriots.

AFC Notes: Tannehill, Pitta, Green, Chargers

December 12th, 2016 at 9:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

Ryan Tannehill will get a second opinion on his knee Tuesday after learning earlier today he didn’t tear an ACL but rather sprained his ACL and MCL. The plan for now is for the Dolphins to trot out backup Matt Moore in the next two games in which Tannehill will definitely not play, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports, and give the franchise passer a chance to stabilize the knee before contemplating a potential Week 17 return against the Patriots.

Salguero notes if the Week 17 game against the Patriots is meaningful for the Dolphins’ playoff hopes and Tannehill wouldn’t risk long-term knee damage, Adam Gase will hound his training staff with questions and consider starting him in a game that could well have home-field advantage on the line for the Pats. However, Salguero notes Tannehill’s ACL is partially torn since it’s been categorized as a sprain, and there will likely be a risk of a full tear if he returns in three weeks.

Additionally, if Tannehill cannot recover in time for the New Year’s Day tilt, the Dolphins will keep him on the roster in 2017 to guarantee $14.5MM of his salary next season. The team will reinstall the former first-round pick as its starting quarterback next season, Salguero writes, with the Jay Cutler talk no longer being a possibility despite Tannehill’s cap number escalating from $11.6MM to $20.3MM.

Here’s more from the AFC.

It’s time for the Bills to bench Tyrod Taylor and install Cardale Jones as the starter, ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak opines. The Bills, of course, have to decide on Taylor this offseason and it would behoove them to know what they have in their young backup. “He’s working hard,” offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said recently of Jones. “He’s a gunslinger, strong arm. You watch him in scout team, we evaluate his reps in scout team. He’s putting the ball in the right places. He’s accurate. I think his development is coming along fine.” Recently, GM Doug Whaley insisted that he won’t be turning things over to Jones, but things could be different after yesterday’s loss to Pittsburgh. The Bills are now 6-7 with slim odds of reaching the postseason.
Matt Forte is day-to-day after hyper-extending his right knee, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports. Although the Jets starter heard “cracking and popping” before the knee swelled, Forte was confident there was no ligament damage. Bilal Powell totaled 179 yards from scrimmage and two TDs in relief. Forte has played in all 13 Jets games this season; he’s only missed three contests in a single campaign twice and never more than four.
Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta will max out his incentives for 2016, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes. Under the terms of his reworked contract, Pitta’s salary was cut from $5MM to $1MM, but the Ravens added $3MM in incentives to help bridge the gap. The 31-year-old needed to catch 60 passes for a $1MM receptions incentive and he’s already topped that with 61. He also has to appear in 50% of the team’s snaps for the other $2MM and he’s in line to do that as well.
Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis says wide receiver A.J. Green expects to return to practice on Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). With Cincinnati sitting at 5-7-1, a Green return would be more important to fantasy players than the Bengals’ 2016 season at this point. Green has missed the past three games with a severe hamstring injury. He sits 36 yards away from a sixth straight 1,000-yard slate.
Continuing on the injury front, Melvin Gordon has both a hip strain and a left knee sprain, Eric Williams of ESPN.com notes. Gordon underwent microfracture surgery on the same knee this offseason. The Chargers fell to 5-8 after losing to the Panthers on Sunday, and although Gordon wants to finish the season, his injury history may point to the Bolts exercising caution here. Gordon didn’t finish the 2015 season due to injury and then had surgery. If Gordon’s season ends after 13 games, he’ll finish three rushing yards shy of 1,000 in a bounce-back year. Mike McCoy said that number will have no bearing on whether the second-year back returns in 2016.
The NFL has suspended Chargers defensive end Tenny Palepoi for four games for violating the league policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Zach Links contributed to this report

Ryan Tannehill Has ACL/MCL Sprain, Not Tear

December 12th, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill received some good news today. He has only sprained his ACL and MCL and does not have a tear of the ligaments, coach Adam Gase announced today. There is still no timetable for return and the injury could still keep him out for the remainder of the regular season.

Tannehill went down during the third quarter of Sunday’s 26-23 win over the Cardinals. The Dolphins feared the worst, but Tannehill has now gotten the best diagnosis possible. Tannehill may or may not be able to return this season, but this injury should be all healed up before the start of next season. An ACL and MCL tear would have put his status for 2017 in jeopardy.

The Dolphins are now 8-5 and are knocking on the door for a Wild Card spot. If the playoffs started today, those spots would be occupied by the Raiders (10-3) and Broncos (also 8-5). According to Five Thirty Eight, Miami has a 30% chance of making the playoffs but just a 2% chance of catching the 10-2 Patriots for the divisional crown.

It stands to reason that Tannehill will miss at least one game. For however long he is out, Matt Moore will handle quarterback duties.