Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Unclear whether Tannehill requires surgery
DAVIE — Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill still might need surgery to repair the two sprained ligaments in his left knee, coach Adam Gase said Wednesday.
“We’re still going through that process right now with the trainers, with what our next step is, where his health is, how strong is his knee,” Gase said at the Dolphins’ end-of-season news conference, adding, “we’re still collecting information, doctors are still giving us what possibly could be down the road, so it’s hard for us to really pinpoint anything as of this moment right now.”
Tannehill sprained the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee against Arizona on Dec. 11. He practiced lightly Friday and never went on injured reserve because the Dolphins felt there was a chance he could play if they made an extended playoff run.
The Dolphins are hoping Tannehill won’t require surgery and won’t miss any part of the offseason program. But they still aren’t sure that will be the case.
Asked if Tannehill may need a major reconstructive surgery — one that would likely sideline him for months — Gase said: “I don’t even know. I can’t answer that, because it hasn’t been a question that really we’ve dove into quite yet.”
Meanwhile, Mike Tannenbaum, the Dolphins’ executive vice president of football operations, said he would like to extend the contracts of wide receiver Jarvis Landry and strong safety Reshad Jones, who are both entering the final year of their deals. But he said it’s too early to say anything definitive about their futures with the team.
“There was a lot of improvement this year,” Tannenbaum said. “So be it Reshad, Jarvis, there are a lot of other guys that are going to be [unrestricted free agents] starting the league year in March of 2017, that we want to look at to try to keep some of our own.
“In addition, we want to extend players. But one of the things that we also have to look at, one of the factors is: it’s not a one-year view. So who is up in 2018? 2019? Adam always likes to roll his eyes, but I always say our plan is firmly etched in pencil.” some years — that was impressive to see, the fight our guys had.” was followed properly.”