Miami Dolphins

How far off is Ryan Tannehill from recovery?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:23 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tyler Olson/FanSided via Phin Phanatic

A week removed from action, Miami Dolphins players are in full recovery mode. That doesn’t exclude quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The most nerve-racking moments came in week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals when Ryan Tannehill went down with what everyone assumed was a torn ACL. That shortly turned to relief after the Miami Dolphins announced he only suffered a sprained MCL.

While any injury to the knee needs to be approached with caution there was talk and hope, if Miami made the playoffs, that Tannehill would be back and ready to go. As we all know, that never happened. And after head coach Adam Gase‘s latest comments on the manner it sounds like it was for the best.

“We still don’t have all the exacts, we’re working through that right now,” Gase said, via James Walker of ESPN. “He’s still going through a rehab stage right now and going through what he has to do with the trainers and our doctors are evaluating.

Gase made the right call by keeping Tannehill on the sideline Wild Card weekend vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you recall, Robert Griffin III had a similar injury his rookie season in 2014. He came back too early and eventually tore his ACL a couple weeks later in the playoffs.

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Tannehill dressing wouldn’t have made a difference for Miami last Sunday. The offense played catch up all day after the defense left them out to dry in the first 10 minutes of action. You can arguably make the assumption that a healthy Matt Moore would’ve been better than a 50% Tannehill in that situation.

This offseason is another crucial time for Tannehill as he continues to grow in Gase’s offense. After a 1-4 start to the season he made great improvements as the season progressed, solidifying his spot in South Florida. Any set backs throughout the rehab process could place a rainy cloud on Miami in 2017.