Every fan base hopes it doesn’t happen to them, and wishes it would befall Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, or Ben Roethlisberger. The Miami Dolphins get their go around in 2017, after Ryan Tannehill may have torn his left ACL in practice on Thursday.
Tannehill, who turned 29 last week, suffered a partial tear in Week 14 of last season. Rather than option for offseason surgery, which would have allowed him to return at the latest late September of 2017, the Dolphins opted to rest and rehab their franchise quarterback’s knee. Now Tannehill is looking like he will be left with no other option but surgery, which will end his 2017 season before taking a snap in the Dolphins’ first preseason game coming up on Thursday night.
Miami now has to turn to 32-year-old Matt Moore as their opening day starter. Moore started 12 of 13 games he appeared in with the Dolphins in 2011, a season the Dolphins finished 6-10. Miami was poised to return to the playoffs for a second consecutive year, and could have pounced in the AFC East if Brady finally starts showing his age in New England.
Head coach Adam Gase reportedly reached out to the recently-retired Jay Cutler about filling in for this season. Cutler retired when he was not offered a contract by several potential landing spots this offseason, and the Bears drafted Mitchell Trubisky third overall in April. Cutler announced he was joining the Fox broadcast team the same day as his retirement.
Another name being brought up is Colin Kaepernick. The black-listed former star is rumored to be courted by the Balitmore Ravens, after Joe Flacco may miss a few weeks with a back issue. Raven fans have lit up the team on Twitter, some threatening to boycott their team’s home games if Kaepernick signs. Kaepernick is barely a serviceable quarterback anymore, and no franchise would want to deal with the toxicity of his political views on a weekly basis, regardless of how much publicity it would bring them.
The Dolphins have $15.2 million in salary cap space available. I’m willing to bet that the Cleveland Browns would have no problem paying for half of Brock Osweiler's $16 million salary in a projected trade. Cleveland is dead-set on running Cody Kessler out for another year, and has Deshaun Kiser waiting in the wings. Osweiler was a financial commodity for the Browns getting Houston’s second round pick next year. Cleveland has five picks in the first two rounds in 2018, and shows no signs of having Osweiler in their future. Miami needs a quarterback, and Cleveland has one to give up.
Miami was likely to take a step backwards this season, even if Tannehill played. The Dolphins have Kansas City, Oakland, and Tennessee in their out-of-division schedule. The Titans are expected to crack the playoffs, and a healthy Derek Carr could get Las Veg...er...Oakland to the Super Bowl. Even with the Jets, Bills, and Chargers, the idea of Moore at the helm makes those five games seem a lot less winnable than they were when the schedule came out earlier this spring. Remember what he did in the playoffs against Pittsburgh?
Then again, this could start to spell the beginning of the end for Tannehill in Miami. Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson were the cream of the 2012 quarterback draft crop. Osweiler is barely in the league, and RG3 can’t find a team to work out for. Please don’t talk to me about Kurt Cousins, because he’ll get you to the playoffs, but only if you have top-10 talent around him.
Sorry Miami, I don’t think your phone will be ringing with offers for Jimmy Garoppolo or Jacoby Brissett once New England jumps out to a three-game lead in the division before October.
-JC24