Miami Dolphins have held trade talks about Ryan Tannehill
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are playing the future of Ryan Tannehill close to the hip but there is a report that they have talked about trading the QB.
According to Ian Rapoport, the Miami Dolphins have talked to team/s about potentially trading Ryan Tannehill. He follows that up closely by adding that usually is a precursor to releasing the player.
The biggest move to come involves Ryan Tannehill. The #Dolphins have had trade talks about him, which often is a precursor to a release. His salary makes it difficult to trade. https://t.co/kiiFjhSIOE
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 2, 2019
No teams are mentioned but only a handful of teams would show any interest in the 30-year-old former first round pick. Jacksonville, Cincinnati, and Washington are the only teams that really come to immediate mind. The biggest hurdle for the Dolphins in any trade is the contract. Tannehill will count $27 million for the Dolphins this year and while he would only cost a new team $13 million, his 2020 contract is $25 million.
The Dolphins could save more money by releasing or trading him after June 1st when they would recoup an additional $5 million in cap money. It is harder to trade a QB heading towards the start of training camps.
It has also been speculated that the Dolphins could simply keep him this year rather than pay another QB and the release him next season. If the Dolphins opted to do that, they would save $19 million on the 2020 cap and only carry $5 million in dead money that year.
The Dolphins are going to have to find a replacement for Tannehill and most indications are they are targeting the 2020 draft for that replacement.
Tannehill has never lived up the 8th overall draft position but more concerning was the fact that he didn’t grow as a player on the field over this years with the Dolphins since 2012. In many ways he is still similar to the player he was coming out of college.
Many fans believed that a trade of Tannehill would have been made easier by the Ravens trading of Joe Flacco to the Broncos for a 4th round pick but that hasn’t been the case. Tannehill still has not shown that he can win the big games consistently. His injuries over the last three years are also a concern and make a trade less likely as free agency approaches.