Why the Miami Dolphins should not shut down Ryan Tannehill to IR

The Miami Dolphins have a Ryan Tannehill problem and it doesn’t look like it is getting any better but IR should not be an option right now.

Whether Ryan Tannehill should be placed on the injured reserve list is becoming a hot topic around the world wide web and it will not go away anytime soon. The question of whether he should or shouldn’t be is debated on forums and social media.

Tannehill has a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder but on Thursday, it was reported by Five Reason Sports Network and Chris Kouffman that there is a potential slight labrum tear as well. This could be a big problem for the Dolphins.

For now until they know for sure, Tannehill needs to stay off the IR and continue to rest and maybe not even attempt to throw for the coming weeks. Miami faces the Packers on Sunday and Tannehill is already listed as out for the game.

Following this weekend they have a bye week before returning to face the Colts. Tannehill was believed to see a potential return after the bye but that looks highly unlikely. So why not simply put him on IR and end his season?

For starters the Dolphins are not sure how long this injury will take to recover. It could be a couple more weeks, it could be another month, it may eventually lead to IR but the point is no one is certain at this point.

Putting Tannehill on IR ends his season and the Dolphins, despite their poor play over the last several weeks are still in the hunt for a playoff spot and if they can keep this pace with Brock Osweiler and potentially make a late season run, maybe Tannehill gets healthy in time for that post-season opportunity.

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Placing Tannehill on IR now eliminates that potential and while Tannehill isn’t a “great” quarterback, he is better than Osweiler. So why risk not having when all he is doing now is taking up a roster spot. The Dolphins have plenty of players that can be moved should another position need to be filled with a healthy body.

Tannehill may not play this year and honestly that would not be a surprise but shelving him now doesn’t make a lot of sense considering the potential to have him late in the season. Regardless, it is very much a possibility that Tannehill won’t play this year and the Dolphins need to monitor this as they are. If they believe or get medical information that keeps Tannehill out, then at that  point they should place him on the list.

The next question and one that is being discussed a lot, and will be later today here on PhinPhanatic, is whether or not he has thrown his last pass for the Dolphins. For now, Tannehill should not go on IR. Not yet but that is looking more and more likely to change.