QB Tannehill wanted to ‘put it on’ Dolphins
Jones describes return from COVID
Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, now with the Tennessee Titans, downplayed the opportunity to stick it to his former team.
But toward the end of the Titans’ 34-3 win on Sunday at Nissan Stadium that helped eliminated the Dolphins from playoff contention, Tannehill let his true emotions out, according to Tennessee wide receiver A.J. Brown.
“Most definitely,” Brown said when asked if there was extra motivation for Tannehill. “All week, I never heard Ryan say anything about the Dolphins — until the last little drive. He wanted to go out and put it on them. I can’t tell you what he said.”
Tannehill did not address his past with the Dolphins in his postgame comments. Instead, he pointed to the importance of the win for Tennessee, which moved into the No. 1 seed in the AFC with the victory and the Kansas City Chiefs’ loss.
“This was an important one for me,” Tannehill said, “being where we were at in the season and having an opportunity to win the division.”
On Wednesday, Tannehill also downplayed his first meeting with the franchise that drafted him with the No. 8 pick in the 2012 draft and with whom he spent his first seven NFL seasons before a March 2019 trade.
“That was a long time ago,” he said Wednesday. “Ages ago. We have done some good things here and excited to hopefully build on that as we finish out the season.”
Jones, Butler play
Dolphins safety Brandon Jones and defensive lineman Adam Butler both played in the team’s critical loss after they were in league COVID19 protocols throughout the past week.
They were removed from the team’s reserve/ COVID-19 list on Saturday afternoon at the deadline to make roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game.
Jones and Butler traveled separately from the rest of the team on Saturday, and despite their removal from the COVID list, they entered Sunday questionable, officially, due to illness. They were announced as cleared to play three and a half hours before the 1 p.m. kickoff at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
Jones started and had five tackles while Butler was seen in the lineup by third down on the opening defensive series, rotating in and finishing with one tackle.
“It was a little challenging for me just because I’m really big on the physical reps, hitting in practice and just not being able to have an overall routine kind of messed me up a little bit,” Jones said after not practicing all week. “But I just had to do more mentally when it came to watching film, asking my coach any questions if I had any and understanding the playbook.”
Jones said he felt sick on Tuesday, when he was first placed on COVID reserve, after playing on Monday night in New Orleans. He continued testing positive from Wednesday on before his Saturday activation.
Two weeks ago, Miami similarly activated rookie free safety Jevon Holland off COVID reserve the day before the Dec. 19 game against the Jets, but he was not cleared ahead of the Sunday kickoff.
Remaining active-roster Dolphins on the COVID list as of Sunday are cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, safety Sheldrick Redwine, defensive tackle John Jenkins and wide receivers Preston Williams, Allen Hurns and Lynn Bowden. Igbinoghene and Redwine were added on Saturday, Hurns and Bowden are on season-ending injured reserve and weren’t available to play anyway.
The Dolphins announced six healthy inactives Sunday: Running back Salvon Ahmed, tight end Hunter Long, linebackers Vince Biegel and Darius Hodge, cornerback Trill Williams and center Cameron Tom.
The Titans had outside linebacker Derick Roberson (illness) and defensive lineman Larrell Murchison (knee) deemed out ahead of kickoff after entering Sunday questionable. They also had defensive backs Chris Jones and Greg Mabin as healthy inactives.
Tennessee did not activate veteran wide receiver Julio Jones off their COVID list on Saturday, so he was out, along with linebacker Jayon Brown and tackle Kendall Lamm.
Jackson sits for a series
On the Dolphins’ third offensive series, Solomon Kindley was seen playing left guard instead of Austin Jackson.
No injury was announced for Jackson, but he was back in for the Dolphins’ following possession. Coach Brian Flores offered little explanation after the game.
“Austin just had to come out for a series. Solomon obviously backs him up,” Flores said. “He went back in when he was ready.”
Jackson, a first-round pick in the 2020 draft, had played left tackle as a rookie last season and to start the 2021 season. He was moved inside to guard for the Oct. 10 game at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kindley saw his first offensive snaps Week 2, Sept. 19 against the Buffalo Bills.