Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is holding out for a chance to start somewhere for the balance of the season. Ironically, his best shot could be his old team.
Tannehill, 36, played with the Dolphins for seven years, starting all 88 games in which he appeared. The QB missed the entire 2017 campaign with a torn ACL he suffered in August of that year.
Over his time in Miami, Tannehill completed nearly 63% of his passes for north of 20,000 yards, 123 TDs and 75 INTs. He left the team following the 2018 season for the Tennessee Titans and immediately became the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, a Pro Bowler and led his new franchise to the AFC Championship Game.
Tannehill played out the final season of his four-year, $118 million contract with Tennessee in 2023. The Titans then chose to move on with Will Levis as the starter in 2024.
Ari Meirov of 33rd Team reported on September 12 that the Green Bay Packers — who were, and still are, missing quarterback Jordan Love — had not inquired about Tannehill because he wasn’t interested in being a “Band-Aid” replacement QB.
Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
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“When Tannehill became a free agent in March, his plan was to basically become what Joe Flacco was last year,” Meirov explained. “He did not wanna sign as a backup quarterback and wait … [for an] injury. He’s gonna wait for a team to have a season-ending injury to their quarterback, and they’re gonna need him. And then he comes in and becomes the guy. He still wants to play. He doesn’t want to sit.”
Miami may not be in a position to offer Tannehill that opportunity. On the other hand, they very well might.
Starting QB Tua Tagovailoa is out for the next three games, at least, with yet another concussion. Meanwhile, backup Skylar Thompson got shelled to the tune of 24-3 at the Seattle Seahawks last week and is now injured himself.
That leaves the high-powered Dolphins passing attack with the options of either Tim Boyle or Tyler Huntley under center.
Huntley has been a Pro Bowler before in 2022 as a replacement selection. However, he has appeared in just 20 games over his career (all with the Baltimore Ravens in relief of two-time MVP Lamar Jackson) and started only nine of those (3-6).
Neither player is an ideal solution, and Tannehill might like the notion of returning to his former city and be willing to bet that Tagovailoa could miss the entirety of the year — as he consults neurologists, and Miami refuses to put any hard timetable on his return.
For his career, Tannehill has tallied almost 35,000 yards passing, 216 TDs and 115 INTs. Spotrac projects his market value at $7.7 million this season, which the Dolphins could get pro-rated to reflect his absence from the roster for the first three or four games of the season.
