4 free agents Dolphins GM Chris Grier needs to try and sign before it’s too late

1. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill

Ryan Tannehill is no stranger to the South Florida market or to Hard Rock Stadium. When he was drafted in 2012, owner Stephen Ross said at the time that he hoped that there would be a time that Tannehill would retire as a Miami Dolphin and be inducted into their Ring of Honor.

Tannehill started for the Dolphins from 2012 through 2018, but never showed more than the occasional flashes of brilliance that Ross and the Dolphins coaches were looking for. He was jettisoned to the Titans in 2019 and the Dolphins started Ryan Fitzpatrick before drafting Tua Tagovailoa as the team's future signal-caller.

He lost his starting job in Tennessee and was dispensable with the drafting and evolution of Will Levis, who was drafted before last season. He has thrown for 34,881 yards during his career with Miami and Tennessee. He has an almost 2-to-1 touchdowns (216) to interceptions (115) ratio.

Miami needs a proven veteran at the backup quarterback position and Mike White and Skylar Thompson just can't cut it. White played poorly last season during mop-up duty and Thompson has not developed since his rookie season. In the event that Tagovailoa goes down with an injury, or holds out due to contract squabbles, Miami will need a competent placeholder until Tagovailoa gets back.

Tannehill is capable of leading the Air Raid offense and has learned how to throw the deep ball, something that he could not do with accuracy while in Miami. While fans would never want to see Tannehill start, because that would mean something happened to Tagovailoa, Tannehill is a proven commodity who can finish a game for you or even start when called upon in a pinch.