What was initially feared about Ryan Tannehill became official on Friday.
Per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, the Miami Dolphins quarterback will undergo reconstructive surgery on his injured left knee. The team is putting Tannehill on season-ending injured reserve as a result.
The Miami Dolphins will be placing QB Ryan Tannehill on IR and he will have reconstructive surgery. Next stop 2018.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) August 12, 2017
Ryan Tannehill To Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery
Tannehill initially suffered the injury on August 3rd while scrambling during training camp practice. At the time, the Dolphins sold it as a minor injury with them telling NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala that there was no structural damage to his knee.
Nevertheless, the team almost immediately became linked with Jay Cutler. The recently retired quarterback was set to enter the broadcast booth with Fox Sports. But on Monday, he put that career move on hold and signed with the Dolphins.
That transaction appeared to confirm the inevitable surrounding Tannehill. And with Cutler joining the team at the beginning of the week, it only took until its end for there to be an update on his status.
Tannehill’s injury was essentially a re-aggravation of a partially torn ACL and MCL suffered against the Arizona Cardinals on December 11th of last year. It put an end to a promising season, with the Dolphins later making the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
At the time, surgery was definitely an option. But Tannehill opted against going under the knife, instead hoping the injury fully healed on its own. With his 2017 season now over, it’s easy to second guess that decision.
The news is unfortunate, as Tannehill enjoyed arguably his greatest season as a pro last year. He realized career highs in completion percentage and quarterback rating under first year head coach Adam Gase. The Texas A&M product also threw just 12 interceptions, tied for the lowest total over the first five years of his NFL career.
It’s not much of a surprise to see Cutler fill in. Him and Gase worked with one another when the latter was offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears in 2015. The “quarterback whisperer” got a lot out of Cutler that year. He finished with the highest rating of his career that year and only nine other quarterbacks had a higher Total QBR than his 65.9 mark.
Tannehill’s $17.975 million salary for 2017 is fully guaranteed for injury, but that number drops after this season. Just $5.525 million of his salary next year is guaranteed. It’s part of a $96 million extension Tannehill signed in 2015.
Cutler saw no action in the Dolphins preseason opener on Thursday, a 23-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons. But he’ll undoubtedly see the field at some point. His next chance comes in six days when Miami hosts the Baltimore Ravens on August 17th.
