Tannehill likely shelved until after bye

The Miami Dolphins might stick with Brock Osweiler as the team’s starting quarterback for at least one more game.

While Dolphins coach Adam Gase wouldn’t rule out injured starter Ryan Tannehill from making a return for this Sunday’s road against the Green Bay Packers, he hinted the team may wait until after Miami’s bye week the following week to re-insert him into the lineup.

Tannehill has missed the last four games because of a right shoulder injury. He sustained the injury while being sacked during a 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 7.

“We’re just trying to get to the point where he feels good throwing and we’ll go from there,” Gase said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens the next two days, and the bye week, and we’ll go from there.”

After suffering what has been disclosed as a capsule injury to his throwing shoulder, Tannehill practiced the following week, preparing for a game against the Chicago Bears. But as the week progressed, the shoulder pain increased and the velocity on Tannehill’s throws decreased.

The Dolphins have kept him from throwing a football during practice for three weeks, hoping that the soreness would subside. But Tannehill, who has a 92.9 passer rating while completing 65.9 percent of his passes and throwing for 972 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions this season, has been throwing footballs to trainers while on a pitch count.

“It’s not about what it looks like, it’s about how he feels,” Gase said. “We’re trying to gauge what we see, what he says.”

According to Gase, Tannehill’s recovery has been inconsistent. One day the shoulder feels better, the next it doesn’t. The Dolphins are determined to avoid a setback when he returns, with the hopes he can finish out the 2018 season strong.

If Tannehill plays at Green Bay, he might be working behind a makeshift offensive line as Laremy Tunsil, the team’s starting left tackle, and Ja’Wuan James, the team’s starting right tackle, both suffered knee injuries in Sunday’s 13-6 win over the New York Jets. Zach Sterup, who filled in at both tackle spots for the injured players, allowed three sacks in his limited snaps.

After the game Tunsil indicated that his injury wasn’t serious, and the NFL Network reported on Monday that James is dealing with a strained patellar tendon but could play this Sunday.

Until Tannehill is cleared to play, Osweiler will remain the starter. He has produced a 91.1 passer rating after completing 63.8 percent of his passes for 1,034 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Osweiler, who completed 15-of-24 passes for 139 yards (78.3 passer rating) against the Jets, is 2-2 since replacing Tannehill as the starter.

Gase plans to announce Tannehill’s status for this Sunday’s game on Wednesday. It’s possible Tannehill begins throwing in practice this week, but gets designated as a backup until Miami’s Nov. 25 road game at Indianapolis.

The Dolphins will hold a handful of practices next week before giving the players a five- or six-day break, which could be beneficial to Tannehill, who has missed 24 games the past three years because of injuries.

The Dolphins insist Tannehill doesn’t need surgery on his shoulder, but that assessment could change anytime.

Tannehill is earning $17.5 million this season, most of which was paid in a signing bonus this spring.