Miami Dolphins fans should applaud Ryan Tannehill not chastise him

The Miami Dolphins will likely part ways with Ryan Tannehill this off-season. It will not be an easy one they make.

Over the last seven seasons Miami Dolphins fans have ridiculed and chastised Ryan Tannehill for not being the type of leader and field general they wanted or expected. They should be applauding him.

Tannehill is not a popular figure and despite the Dolphins efforts to plaster his face over the franchise, it simply didn’t take. He was the starting quarterback and nothing more. The really good girl that you bring home to meet mom but secretly wish was dirty.

Tannehill for all his flaws never took the easy road out. He played through pain and he played through injury until the injuries could not longer be played through. Tannehill showed class from his first day at camp to his last game. Never afraid to take responsibility, never ready to throw his teammates under the bus.

The problem with Tannehill is that he simply isn’t built to shoulder a team and carry them on his back. Not with consistency. Too many other pieces need to be in place and too many of those pieces needed to be performing near flawlessly.

For seven years fans have screamed for another quarterback some of those fans never once really giving him a opporutnity to fail or succeed. It was always easier to say he sucked than to risk being wrong and seeing him excel.

Over the years here on PhinPhanatic we have supported him and defended him to a fault but 2018 proved that Tannehill simply wasn’t growing as a quarterback. After seven seasons there was still too much growth needing to be done.

Perhaps Adam Gase was right that Tannehill still had not reached his ceiling. He never said he was capable of getting there. With the off-season and league new year approaching Tannehill’s name is going to be brought up in trade talks but more likely trade rumors.

A team like Jaguars could be a smart landing place. A bridge QB that will have the benefit of a good offensive line and stout defense when playing healthy. He can teach a youngster without having the future of the team on his back.

When Tannehill does leave the Dolphins many fans will cry it’s about time and it is. It is time for Tannehill to move on but not because he sucks or because he was making the Dolphins worse. He needs to go because he simply isn’t the answer that Miami needs.

Tannehill left nothing on the field. He gave his all and that is really what fans should give him credit for, not the missed passes or touchdowns. His effort was 100% all the time. Blame it on the coaches for not giving him the support that he needed. Blame the offensive line or the play on defense. Blame no one. It happens. It was the same with Jay Fiedler. Just wasn’t the fit Miami needed or needs.