One of the more surprising former Miami Dolphins players still on the free agent market is quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill hasn’t played since 2023 when he was with the Tennessee Titans. He certainly wasn’t playing his best football then, but he still looked like a capable backup. Either way, we haven’t heard much from Tannehill in a while.
However, Tannehill is doing media this week since he’s in Spain with former MVP quarterback Joe Theismann and two-time Pro Bowl tackle Alejandro Villanueva, as part of a USAA visit to Naval Air Station Rota ahead of the Dolphins’ game against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
In that interview, Tannehill opened up about his future and his relationship with current Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.
The former Dolphins QB was asked whether he keeps in touch with Tagovailoa at all, and it seems like Tannehill is more of a fan from afar than anything.
“I think he’s a good player,” Tannehill said in an interview with The Escapist. “I know guys that have played with him and like him. Seems like he has a good reputation with anyone I’ve come in contact with, anyone who’s been in contact with him. I want the best for him. He’s grown a lot over the course of his career. Hopefully, he can keep growing and getting better.”
Tannehill is right that Tua has grown a lot in his career. Although this year hasn’t gone according to plan, Tua really started trending in the right direction when Mike McDaniel was hired in 2022.
In 72 starts, Tua has thrown for 17,458 yards, 117 touchdowns, and 57 interceptions with a career completion percentage of 68.1 percent. Tannehill started more games in Miami (88), so he does have more yards (20,434), but Tua has a better completion percentage and more touchdowns.
QB stats are not the best evaluation tool, and Tannehill’s offenses never looked as good as the 2022 and 2023 Dolphins.
That’s in the past now, though, and the current version of the Dolphins is 3-7. However, Tannehill sees some hope for the team.
“But just hope the Dolphins can build on what they did last week, and then hopefully if they get a win this week, you can just keep the ball rolling forward,” Tannehill said.
“That’s all you can do. You get in a bad spot in a year, not where you want to be. You gotta take it one week at a time and just get the ball rolling forward. Once you get some momentum, then everything you know seems to come a little bit easier.”
Outside of talking about the Dolphins, Tannehill was asked about whether he’ll play again. Although he didn’t say he was retired, he doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about taking the field again.
“I think that chapter is closed,” Tannehill said. “I think last year, that was where I was at, if the right opportunity came up and was right for our family. Staying in shape and staying ready. I had plenty of calls, but nothing ever felt like the right opportunity that I was looking for. That was last NFL season. At this point, I think that ship has sailed for me.”
If Tannehill doesn’t play again, he’ll finish with a pretty solid 11-year career. Things in Miami didn’t live up to first-round expectations, but he helped stabilize a Titans organization that hasn’t figured out the QB situation since he left.
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