BREAKING NEWS: Tannehill signs contract extension through 2020

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2015/05/ryan-tannehill-signs-contract-extension-through-2020.html

Tannehill's six-year extension is worth $96 million that includes $45 million in guaranteed money, per a league source.

Initial thought: a lot of money for a guy that hasn't done anything yet...let's hope he lives up to it.

Horrible, horrible move. Fins are now doomed for the next 5 years. Luck and Wilson haven't even received extensions yet BTW.

Wake me when he wins a playoff game. Just one.

I'm pretty sure Andy Dalton only got $17 million guaranteed. Say what you will about Dalton - I don't like him - but he gets his team to the playoffs every season. Tannehill...doesn't.

I honestly don't know how I feel about this. I hope this guy turns out to be the franchise QB but I still don't have faith in him.

This is all Aponte's fault. So much for all her "offset language" talk. Remember that? HA!!!

To be extended before proven winners like Luck and Wilson is just...it's literally borderline criminal

This is basically the Fins throwing their hands up in the air and saying, "Well shoot, we ain't gettin' no other decent QB in the next few years so we might as well overpay the one we already got."

It reminds me of this guy on Youtube whose Madden franchises I follow. Right now he's doing the Panthers for Madden '15 (I'm openly urging him to do the Fins for the next one) and he re-signed Cam Newton to a very long, very expensive deal. Now Cam sucks as a passer (he sure can run though) and this guy's stuck with him because of the contract even though Cam's awfulness is dragging the whole team down. Meanwhile the Broncos and Texans selected two QBs in the last draft right about where he would've been picking if not a little lower and both those guys are already tearing up the league.

Apparently the deal has $20 million fully guaranteed, and another $20 million in guarantees based on Tannehill being on the roster in specific years. So it's better than just straight up $45 million guaranteed.

I'm shocked that the Phins went ahead with this extension before the season. They went out of their way to completely rebuild the WR corps to cater to Tannehill's strengths, but without knowing how he'll respond it seems like they are getting ahead of themselves. What happens if Tannehill regresses this season, despite all the offseason moves? Then what???

This extension changes the bar for the season, IMO. It's not enough to get above .500, it's not enough to make the playoffs...it is now win a playoff game. Anything less, and the Phins screwed up. That's how I see it.

OK, so it sounds like the Dolphins will have "outs" after the first two seasons of the deal. In that sense, it's a lot like the deals that Dalton and Kap got...it's essentially year to year after the first two, and Tannehill gets a big roster bonus each year the Phins decide to keep him. So, I'm OK with that...as long as the Phins protect themselves by drafting a QB next year that they can groom just in case...

yep, this deal is as about as good as can be done for a team in the Phins' position. the team is relatively protected in the event Tannehill flops.

Good move IMO. I think Prisco from CBS did a write up, in short QB talent is in very high demand with limited supply.

Collegiate spread offenses are making it worse - there has also been mention of Mariota going way too high with a lot of risk in projecting him to a pro offense.

In today's NFL, success is based largely on QB play. I'm tired of all the excuses with Tannehill. It's time for him to step up and get it done. Last year, he put up nice stats overall...but he was awful in key situations (third downs, 4th quarter, red zone). Seems like many Dolfans blame everything and everyone except Tannehill for our lack of winning seasons, but if he is ever going to become a great QB he needs to lead this team and put it on his back.

Totally agree - Tannehill needs to improve, and in exactly those areas you cite JMP.

I understand the logic in this deal because statistically, Tannehill HAS improved in every season he has started for us. No excuses, just good hard data supports the fact he has actually improved in many key statistics over his three year NFL career. The arrow still points "up" on Tannehill, I think few would argue he has reached some sort of plateau, or that there is zero room or potential for improvement.

If he continues to improve, especially in these specific areas, he will become a very good bordering on franchise caliber QB. If he regresses, we will end up "opting out" in one of the years where we left ourselves this window.

It's a risk, for sure - but what move isn't a risk? And this risk is manageable IMO.

Btw, it's obvious the analysis conducted by our front office reached the following conclusion based on our offseason moves.

Tannehill wins an extension, while Hartline, Wallace and Gibson all shown the door.

Our QB is a good one, and on the incline to bigger and better things. Our receivers did not fit the offense, or the QB, or both.

I hope they are right.

white1 wrote:Totally agree - Tannehill needs to improve, and in exactly those areas you cite JMP.

I understand the logic in this deal because statistically, Tannehill HAS improved in every season he has started for us.  No excuses, just good hard data supports the fact he has actually improved in many key statistics over his three year NFL career.  The arrow still points "up" on Tannehill, I think few would argue he has reached some sort of plateau, or that there is zero room or potential for improvement.

If he continues to improve, especially in these specific areas, he will become a very good bordering on franchise caliber QB.  If he regresses, we will end up "opting out" in one of the years where we left ourselves this window.

It's a risk, for sure - but what move isn't a risk? And this risk is manageable IMO.

Yep, well said and I agree. The big questions moving forward for me are:

--Will Tannehill continue to be a stat compiler and not a winner (like last season where he put up good stats but only led the team to 8 wins), or will he actually start improving in the key areas we mentioned here and start getting to and winning in the postseason?

--If Tannehill does stay at the level he's at now, with minimal improvement, how long can the Dolphins stick with him? You look at the Bengals with Dalton...he puts up pretty good numbers every season and has gotten his team to the playoffs every year he's been in the league...but I don't see that team going anywhere further than that with him at QB. So how long do they stick with him? The Dolphins haven't even sniffed the playoffs with Tannehill, so I think the question becomes even more critical for them. Even if the QB is "good", how long can you keep starting him if he's not winning???

I think this is a critical season for Tannehill. If he fails to make the playoffs again, that's 4 years in a row - and that's not good...

white1 wrote:Btw, it's obvious the analysis conducted by our front office reached the following conclusion based on our offseason moves.

Tannehill wins an extension, while Hartline, Wallace and Gibson all shown the door.

Our QB is a good one, and on the incline to bigger and better things.  Our receivers did not fit the offense, or the QB, or both.

I hope they are right.

But how often do you see teams change their OL every year, or completely revamp the WR corps in a single offseason, while keeping the QB the same? Not often. I mean, sooner or later you have to look at the QB if you change everything else but keep getting the same results.

True. This team is "all in" on Tannehill. At least they appear to have conviction on this one starter!

Tannehill has improved every year. Looking at the other alternatives I think it's a great move.

Birdmond wrote:Tannehill has improved every year.  Looking at the other alternatives I think it's a great move.  

Yeah, and the contract is really not bad at all. It's not like they were going to be better if they lost him after this season anyway. There's nothing around that's any better that can be claimed, and quite frankly, I'm not sure what QB college prospects are worth a crap anyway.

All of this could've been avoided had everyone involved just had the sense to Suck For Luck in 2011. They could have at least TRIED. But noooo, they had to start trying to win out of sheer spite after being winless in midseason And how has that been working out, hmmm?

Of course as Birdmond has pointed out a few times, they still could've had Wilson (and Luke Kuechly) in that draft. Funny how Ireland had no problem taking Pat White in the 2nd round but we all know he never would've selected Wilson even if he'd been available in the 6th or 7th because of his size.

I hate to say it, but if Manziel's charisma could be combined with Tannehill's work ethic, you'd have the makings of a possible HOF QB. I'm of the opinion Tannehill simply doesn't have the leadership and ability to inspire his teammates to be anything more than above average. But oui shall see...

So now Tannehill is the 14th highest paid QB AND he had the 14th best QBR. Works for me. But for those against the deal please tell me who was better in this years or next years draft. You can't. There is no alternative. It's a common sense move.

This is what the guys at Football Outsiders think about it.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/extra-points/2015/dolphins-extend-tannehill-through-2020

I actually see nothing wrong with the deal. Dalton is doing well in Cinny because his OL and supporting cast is way better than Miami. For the fact that Miami has one of the worst OL in the league and Tannehill has shown improvement means a lot.

Well, it seems like it's really just a 3-year deal. Before the 2018 season, the Phins will have to decide to cut/trade Tannehill, or give him a new deal. So Tannehill has three seasons to become more than an average QB.

rightchea wrote:
Dalton is doing well in Cinny because his OL and supporting cast is way better than Miami.

Way better supporting cast? I definitely don't think so. I know PFF drools over their OL every year, but I don't think it's as good as they say...really just a collection of average linemen. They have AJ Green, who is better than anyone on the Phins, but beyond that I'll put Miami's skill players against them any day. Hill and Miller had almost identical seasons at RB last year. I honestly don't see the Bengals and Dolphins offenses being all that different in terms of talent, but I see Dalton leading his team to the playoffs year after year and I see Tannehill fold down the stretch year after year. Like I said, sooner or later we all need to stop making excuses for the QB.

rightchea wrote:For the fact that Miami has one of the worst OL in the league and Tannehill has shown improvement means a lot.

How much improvement has Tannehill really shown, though? Sure, his completion percentage went up...but that's due as much to Lazor's 20-yard box offense than anything else. And his QBR went up, again mostly due to the short passing offense - but it was still middle of the pack compared to the rest of the NFL. His yards and TDs were pretty much the same as the previous year (with a slight increase) and his yards per attempt has basically been the same for 3 seasons. The biggest difference between '13 and '14 is that Tannehill actually got worse in key situations (again, 3rd downs, 4th quarter, red zone). Most importantly, in both '13 and '14 Tannehill could not put points on the board in crucial late-season games with the playoffs on the line.

If anything, I'd say we saw only marginal improvements from Tannehill in '14...and that's not enough. He needs to take a HUGE leap forward in 2015.

Nobody wants Tannehill to succeed more than I do. But right now, I just don't have much confidence in him ever being more than average.

DolFan 316 wrote:I'm of the opinion Tannehill simply doesn't have the leadership and ability to inspire his teammates to be anything more than above average.

i'm not saying i agree with you, but...

Dave Hyde wrote:...this contract brought out one thing he needs work on: His relationship with teammates. The anecdotal evidence is that on Monday when the deal was announced and Tuesday when the news conference was held, Tannehill received congrats from only two teammates on social media: Jason Fox and A.J. Francis. Surely he received some private texts. But these events usually lead to an explosion on social media. The larger point is the great quarterbacks are beloved by teammates. You don’t see that yet with Tannehill...

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/dave-hyde-blog/sfl-hyde5-what-tannehill-needs-to-improve-most-on-no-not-long-ball-20150520-story.html?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DaveHyde-blog+%28Dave+Hyde+|+Sun+Sentinel+blogs%29

an indication of lack of support by teammates or much ado about nothing?

in the end, this is why i think this deal makes sense...

Dave Hyde wrote:So in that extension that begins in 2017 he will be paid $19.25 million a season. But there's a lot of time between now and when that part of the contract kicks in. Dye told Tannehill to be ready for Andrew Luck to make about $25 million a year. Russell Wilson will make more by that time. So will a handful of other quarterbacks due to the increasing cap and increasing deals. By the time 2017 rolls around, the guess is Tannehill will be slotted just where his game is today: Somewhere between the 10th and 15th quarterbacks in the league.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/dave-hyde-blog/sfl-hyde5-what-tannehill-needs-to-improve-most-on-no-not-long-ball-20150520-story.html?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DaveHyde-blog+%28Dave+Hyde+|+Sun+Sentinel+blogs%29

paying him right in line with where his performance has thus far indicated. but in the interim, the Phins do need to draft another young (cheaper) QB to began to develop - for insurance if Tannehill doesn't continue to ascend and/or as a reliable back-up in the event Tannehill does go on to become top shelf (or get injured somewhere in between).

i think Tannehill's agent actual had the most reasonable handle on the deal...

Miami Herald wrote:"The way we all measure these deals is like hitting fast forward. Let's pretend he's hitting free agency for 2017. How much money are they paying him over those next four years. So this deal adds 77 million new dollars for four new years. Some of that $77 million is actually going to be additional dollars over years One and Two. So he's actually going to make money in years One and Two than he otherwise would have made. But those $77 million over four new years, that yearly average is $19.25. Brees average $20. Flacco is $20-and-change. I think Aaron Rodgers is $22 million. And I'm comparing apples to apples. That's how teams and agents measure these deals. What's the new dollars over the new years?

"I think there definitely an element on betting on the come in this deal. You just made the guy the sixth highest paid quarterback on the new deal. And he's never been to the Pro Bowl. Hasn't had a winning season. Never been to the playoffs. But I think you see the ascension. You see the progress.

"This is his team and this deal validates that. I told Ryan as we were getting ready to do this, "You need to prepare yourself for waking up one day and reading Andrew Luck is getting $25 million. He's a talented guy who was the first pick of the draft for a reason and he's been to the AFC championship.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2015/05/agents-view-how-the-tannehill-deal-happened.html

and he doesn't think much of Miami's o-line.

So there's all that and then the second year he loses his left tackle, left guard and center. I'm not even going to comment on the rest of the offensive line.

"And then this past year some of the challenges from some of the perimeter people and you lose Branden Albert. We represent Ja'Wuan James and he filled in nicely. But it's not the same when you have Branden Albert on the left side and Ja'Wuan on the right side.

i wonder if Tannehill feels the same way?

mercury22nathan wrote:paying him right in line with where his performance has thus far indicated. but in the interim, the Phins do need to draft another young (cheaper) QB to began to develop - for insurance if Tannehill doesn't continue to ascend and/or as a reliable back-up in the event Tannehill does go on to become top shelf (or get injured somewhere in between).

Yep - drafting a young QB in 2016 now becomes a priority IMO. There's some intriguing QBs that may be coming out next year, so it should be a good year to draft a developmental prospect IMO.