The Reach of the Ryan Tannehill Injury
Poor Dolphins. Poor Adam Gase. Poor Fins Fans.
During yesterday’s practice for the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Ryan Tannehill took off with the ball down the sidelines, landed an awkward step, and crumbled into the fetal position.
Go back watch video of Tannehill "injury" appears to plant the left foot and pulls his left leg high immediately in pain ? via Dion Demming pic.twitter.com/iimXLpntYp
— Chris Fischer (@ChrisFischer07) August 3, 2017
Adding insult to injury (literally), this day (August 3rd)Â was the King of Dolphin sushi, Tom Brady‘s 40th birthday.
Ouch.
Initial reports were optimistic, as MRI’s did not show a tear. However, it all went downhill from there, as the latest reports indicate that Tannehill has 2 options: rest his knee for 6-8 weeks and hope it’s sufficient for a return, or season ending knee surgery.
Suffice it to say, the Dolphins are surely in the market for a quarterback.
While Tannehill isn’t a Raven, or even in the AFC North, there’s certainly going to be a trickle down effect that can be felt in Baltimore, as we approach the regular season.
The direct effect here is quite simple- the Ravens host the Dolphins in Week 8 of the regular season. Also worth noting- it’s a Thursday night game, meaning the Ravens would be coming off a short week, and coming back into town after playing in Minnesota on Sunday, to face a Miami team that’s likely to be trotting out a lesser quarterback than Tannehill.
Another angle for the Tannehill effect, and quite possibly a huge weight off the Ravens shoulders should it come to fruition, comes in the form of everyone’s favorite NFL controversy.
Source: Colin Kaepernick's name was raised w/i #Dolphins' front office as potential insurance at QB posn after Ryan Tannehill injured Thurs.
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) August 3, 2017
Of course, recently-retired-yet-not-officially-retired QB Jay Cutler has also been mentioned ad nauseam, but Kaepernick seems much more likely since he’s not currently tied to the broadcast booth as Cutler is.
Should the Fins bring in Kaepernick and decide to sign him, the headache and misery that currently surrounds Steve Bisciotti & Co. is likely to subside to some degree, as the media circus moves on to Miami.
Then again, Miami could decide to pass on Kaepernick, and look to other NFL teams for potential trade partners. The possibility of a young, up and coming quarterback isn’t out of the question, and a name like Bengals backup signal caller AJ McCarron is sure to spike some interest down south. McCarron was previously mentioned to be available before the NFL draft a few months back. However, the Bengals had a hefty price tag associated with Dalton’s clipboard holder (1st round pick). Should the Dolphins oblige, they’d likely be sending future draft picks for 2018 to Cincy, thus strengthening a competitor of the Ravens at next year’s rookie raffle.
Another approach Miami could take would be to find a familiar face at quarterback. Say one who has played under Gase? Maybe one who is 26, fell flat in Houston, and now wears the orange helmet of shame in Cleveland?
Indeed, if Dolphins head coach Adam Gase feels so inclined and crazy confident, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear the organization reaching out to the Browns and seeing what the asking price is for Brock Osweiler. But again, added draft picks for 2018 could potentially strengthen an AFC North opponent of the Ravens. I’d imagine Osweiler would come cheaper than AJ McCarron, but just as with AJMC, there’s an inherent risk involved.
In Osweiler’s case, the risk is that he continues to be just flat… out… awful.
Of course, it’s all still speculation. There’s no official word on Ryan Tannehill’s knee, although the general consensus around the Twitterverse of check marked accounts is not an optimistic outlook.
Hey guys… do you think we can convince Miami to trade for Ryan Mallet?
