The Miami Dolphins’ search for a new franchise quarterback is still underway. The team saw veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick rise to the occasion over the second half of 2019, providing perhaps the best stretch of play Miami has seen at the position this side of Chad Pennington in 2008. But alas, Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t getting any younger and Miami must find a new signal caller to call theirs for the long run.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ prior franchise quarterback is enjoying his second lease on life as a pro quarterback — Ryan Tannehill has inked a 4-year contract worth up to $118M with the Titans after taking over as the team’s starter mid-season. The guaranteed money is in excess of $60M, meaning the 31-year old Tannehill is set to be “the man” with the Titans for at least the next two or three seasons.
Here’s more numbers on Ryan Tannehill’s deal, per source:
2020 is $17.5m fully guaranteed.
2021 is $24.5m fully guaranteed.
2022 is $29m guaranteed for injury at signing and fully guaranteed on 5th day of 2021 league year.
2023 is $27.5m base.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) March 15, 2020
Should the Dolphins have remorse? No, they shouldn’t. And here’s why. Because Tannehill’s tenure here in Miami was played out — he’s not the universal quarterback or elite signal caller that is going to transcend a bad offense. And the Dolphins, whether you’d like to admit it or not, have had a bad offense for quite some time now. Tannehill thrived in Tennessee because he went to a team that knew their identity and stayed committed to running the football and letting Tannehill come over the top with play action passing once the defense was sucked into the line of scrimmage.
That script has never been what Miami has tried to do throughout his entire career. And while that could be amended and we could possibly see Miami shift to that mentality, the odds are that Tannehill and his strengths were just never a good fit for the Dolphins. That’s okay — because now they get a chance to hand select one that does fit them.
Make no mistake — if Ryan Tannehill played last season in Miami, he’d have ended the year on injured reserve, not in the Pro Bowl. They say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure; that proved to be fact for Tennessee. But now they’re betting on playing a style of football that works against the grain of today’s NFL landscape and it being sustainable for years to come.
That’s a risky proposition. Perhaps even more risky than the Dolphins deciding to let Tannehill go. Because if Tannehill regresses back to the passer he was for much of his career in Miami, now the Titans aren’t just looking at being stuck in neutral, they’re facing throwing away their winning window as a team.
So no, Dolphins fans. Don’t look back at the Tannehill tenure with regret. Instead, be thankful it gives us perspective as to how the Dolphins can build their team from here to avoid miscasting the next one in line.
[vertical-gallery id=420193]