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The Miami Dolphins have their starting quarterback again.
According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Adam Gase has named Tannehill as the team’s starter for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Tannehill had missed Miami’s past five games with a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder. Brock Osweiler started in Tannehill’s stead and amassed a 2-3 record.
Tannehill’s status was murky going into the week, but several reporters noted that the 30-year old quarterback looked good in Tuesday’s practice. Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post stated that Tannehill “appear[ed] to be ripping it at Miami Dolphins practice without showing any outward signs of frustration or pain.”
Before being ruled out with the injury following Week 5’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Tannehill had posted a 3-2 record through the start of season with wins against the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, and Oakland Raiders and losses to the New England Patriots and Bengals. Through those five games, Tannehill completed 65.9% of his passes and accumulated 972 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions to go along with a 92.9 passer rating. He also has 19 rushing attempts and 91 rushing yards on the season.
Despite Osweiler’s valiant effort in a victory against the Chicago Bears in his first start this season, the backup quarterback’s play trailed off in his matchups against the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, New York Jets, and Green Bay Packers. Getting Tannehill back under center should be a boost to an offense that has lost plenty of starters and key contributors to injury through the course of the season including guard Josh Sitton, center Daniel Kilgore, and wide receivers Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant. Tannehill is a far more mobile and accurate quarterback than Osweiler, especially on throws downfield. It remains to be seen if the shoulder injury will limit Tannehill’s throwing ability against the Colts, but Adam Gase has said the team has been patient with the injury, so the hope for Dolphins fans is that Tannehill will be fully ready to go.