Ryan Tannehill’s Injury: When Will Dolphins QB Return to Play?

Getty Ryan Tannehill remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Ryan Tannehill’s injury status is a bit cloudy as the Dolphins have not revealed much when it comes to his injured shoulder. Tannehill was ruled out of the Dolphins-Texans Thursday Night Football matchup for some time, and the Dolphins have not released a timeline for when the quarterback is expected to return.

According to the Miami Herald, Tannehill started throwing again this week. It is not clear whether Tannehill is throwing full-size footballs or just nerf balls, something the Dolphins noted was a possibility.

“Ryan is in a good spot,” Dolphins head coach Adam Gase told the Miami Herald. “We will probably be able to do some things with him throwing.”

Tannehill has an undisclosed shoulder injury that will not require surgery. The Dolphins are hopeful Tannehill can return for Week 9, but there are no guarantees. The Miami Herald detailed what the team has announced so far.

Gase said the team likely would have an idea next weekend about his availability in the immediate future. The team believes there’s a chance Tannehill could play Nov. 4 against the Jets but doesn’t yet know.

Gase noted that the short week gave Tannehill little chance of returning for Thursday’s matchup. The plan is to see how Tannehill performs in practices and assess his status next week.

“He’s in a good spot. This being a short week, it would’ve been tough,” Gase explained to the Sun-Sentinel. “We’re going to be able to start doing some things with him throwing, and see how that feels. Once we get through this game, then we’ll have a better idea once we head into the weekend where he is, how much further along he has, and if he feels good. It’s really going to take the duration of this week, and we’ll have a better idea at this weekend.”

The NFL Is Investigating Ryan Tannehill’s Injury

The secrecy surrounding Tannehill’s injury prompted the NFL to investigate the Dolphins’ handling of information. Last week, Tannehill was listed as a full participant in one particular practice, despite not taking any actual reps during practice. The Miami Herald detailed why the NFL is investigating the situation.

According to the NFL rules, practicing full means the player takes all his normal reps. Practicing limited means the player took “less than 100 percent” of his normal reps.

Obviously, Tannehill took less than 100 percent of his normal reps on Thursday but the Dolphins reported him as practicing full.

Another question is why the Dolphins listed Tannehill as “questionable” on Friday when multiple national news outlets on game day reported Tannehill was actually “doubtful” to play.

The Dolphins will have to come up with answers for all this.

Unfortunately, injuries have followed Tannehill throughout his NFL career. Tannehill sustained a knee injury that caused him to miss the entire 2017 season. The Dolphins quarterback played in 13 games in 2016. Brock Osweiler will continue to start for the Dolphins at quarterback as long as Tannehill remains sidelined.