Tannehill is throwing again

Dolphins’ starting quarterback aims to start again in two weeks.

DAVIE — Ryan Tannehill is on a restricted pitch count, but the Miami Dolphins’ starting quarterback returned to throwing a football on Sunday and will continue to do so during the rest of Miami’s bye week.

Tannehill, who has missed the past five games because of a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder, is testing out the arm, hoping that the soreness he’s experienced since landing on it in Miami’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals will subside enough for him to practice without limitations next week.

According to coach Adam Gase, the plan is for Tannehill to progressively ratchet up the throws, going from 15-yard throws to 25-yard throws, with the goal of being able to participate in the Wednesday practice before Miami’s Nov. 25 game against the Indianapolis Colts, which is when Tannehill hopes to return to the starting lineup.

“It’s going to be a progression,” Gase explained Monday about the rehab of Tannehill, who previously began throwing in late October, but got shut down because of shoulder soreness. “He didn’t throw a ball there for a while so we’ve got to be careful. It’s got to be a build up for that.

“They are trying to get it to where every day they can have him say, ‘I’m not feeling pain.’ ” Gase said, referring to Miami’s medical team. “I’m just waiting for those directives from [the medical staff ]. If we can get through this week and he feels great everyday then we have a shot.”

Brock Osweiler replaced Tannehill and has led the Dolphins to a 2-3 record, producing a 86.0 passer rating while completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,247 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s been sacked 16 times in his five starts and has missed numerous throws in critical situations that has hindered the offense’s performance in the red zone and on third downs.

The Dolphins (5-5) offense ranks 25th in the NFL in third-down execution, converting 33.3 percent of those opportunities.

The Dolphins are tied with the New York Giants and New York Jets for last in the NFL in red-zone execution, turning 40 percent of the team’s possessions that reach the 20-yard line into touchdowns.

The Dolphins offense, which is averaging 17.8 points per game, has scored the fewest red-zone points (76) in the NFL this season.

Tannehill has missed 25 games the past three seasons because of the ACL injuries he suffered in 2016 and 2017 and the shoulder injury he’s rehabbing now.

Tannehill 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.

“I’m confident the shoulder is getting better and I’ll be ready to go,” Tannehill said last week.

“I’ll be playing through pain for the rest of the year. Once I can make the throws and get the ball to where it needs to go, I can deal with the pain. … Unfortunately it’s a time thing, and we don’t have much time during the season.”

Tannehill is earning $17.5 million this season, most of which was paid in a signing bonus this spring because the Dolphins restructured his contract to create salarycap space. He is slated to earn $18.75 million in 2019, but if designated as a June 1 release, his entire salary would come off the books.

Gase is committed to Tannehill as his starting quarterback, but Tannehill’s health concerns will likely force Miami to find better backups moving forward. The only quarterback outside of Tannehill under contract past this season is rookie Luke Falk, who is on injured reserve because of a wrist injury to his throwing arm.

Ryan Tannehill started throwing a football again on Sunday and will progressively work his injured throwing shoulder with the goal of playing against the Colts.