BREAKING NEWS: Tannehill traded to Titans!

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nfl/miami-dolphins/article227956769.html

The Dolphins have traded Ryan Tannehill to the Tennessee Titans, ending a seven-year marriage that leaves the team with added draft ammunition but no clear starting quarterback.

The Dolphins are sending Tannehill and their sixth-round pick in this year’s draft for the Titans’ seventh-rounder this year and a fourth-round pick in 2020.

That’s a coup for Chris Grier. He picks up a valuable asset in the quarterback-rich 2020 draft for a player he most likely was going to cut anyway.

The Phins will also pay $5 million of Tannehill's contract this year, meaning he'll get $7 million from the Titans to backup Mariota.

I thought he would just get cut, so it's great to get at least something for him.

More:

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article227844804.html

From a pure cash standpoint, the Dolphins will pay $5 million of the $7 million in guaranteed money that the Titans will pay him in 2019. That $5 million goes on the Dolphins’ cap.

But that’s less than the nonguaranteed $39 million he would have been owed, combined, during the next two seasons had he remained a Dolphin under terms of the contract the sides struck a couple of years ago.

From a cap standpoint, the trade saves $8.2 million on Miami’s cap in 2019 and $25 million off Miami’s cap in 2020.

And that gives the Dolphins $38.3 million in cap space at this moment — more than what they probably need this offseason.

That extra $25 million in cap space next season is sweet!!!

All right, time to overpay Fitzpatrick for a year or two.

hearing that Kaepernick is interested in the vacancy. I also hear that miami looking into AJ Carron

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All right, time to overpay Fitzpatrick for a year or two.

I think the team has demonstrated that it won't overpay for a veteran QB when they let both Taylor and Bridgewater sign elsewhere.

We will get Fitz if he's playing for cheap.

If not, we will draft a QB somewhere in the coming draft - probably not first round unless we trade down and go late in the 1st. I'm thinking 2nd or 3rd round is more likely.

By the way, I've been weeping with joy for the past 3 hours.

So happy to learn once and for all, we won't be watching Tanny for one more year. I'm really looking forward to seeing someone new lineup behind center this year. I don't really care who it is.

See Ya. Too bad 7 wasted years.

JEGnj wrote:See Ya. Too bad 7 wasted years.

Now he shows up But not for the reason I expected

This trade is like somehow managing to sell an old junker of a car, you don't really get squat for it, but you're amazed you got anything at all.

Also, I suddenly feel so bad for the Titans. What did their fans ever do to deserve this? At least middle TN's a nice area, makes where I live seem third world.

It makes sense for the Titans. Last year they had Blaine Gabbert starting a must-win, win and in de facto playoff game to end the season. Certainly Tanny is an upgrade over Gabbert.

True. We did sign Fitz, cheap too.

Tannehill as a backup for 7 mill? That's not too bad. As long you are not counting on him to be the starter and paying starter money..... He is a backup QB. Nothing more.


It is gonna be interesting to see what Grier does in the draft. At QB in particular (or better yet, NOT AT QB IMHO) , but I think the more decisive moves are gonna be how he handles the whole double-edged sword of NEED versus Best Player Available. The Phins have been getting pole-axed by that double-edged axe for decades now. Draft for need and they get hoodwinked, go BPA, and they get impaled by a sharp-pointed BUSTAROONIE!!!

Be nice to see some common sense and strategy emerge in the Dolphins Draft room for a change. The mantra ought to be "If it ain't IMPACTFUL, you are doing it wrong!"

"Common sense and strategy"...words I never thought we'd connect to the Miami Dolphins ever again! Sure would be nice to see this franchise become a winner again.

It makes sense for Tennessee. Mariota is good for about 6-8 games before an inevitable injury, which the odds will just increase with age, and you need a guy with starting experience. I hope Tannehill does well. He paid in pain for his time here. Almost Carr'd him out of football. With one more contract as a backup, he can be set for life and get down to becoming a doctor.

Degarmo wrote:It makes sense for Tennessee.  Mariota is good for about 6-8 games before an inevitable injury, which the odds will just increase with age, and you need a guy with starting experience.  I hope Tannehill does well.  He paid in pain for his time here.  Almost Carr'd him out of football.  With one more contract as a backup, he can be set for life and get down to becoming a doctor.

Carr'd him out of football!!! Nice.

Yeah, those first couple of seasons were PAINFUL to watch. He got beat like a Trump Piñata full of hundred dollar bills at the DNC Meetings!!

finfanatic wrote:

Degarmo wrote:It makes sense for Tennessee.  Mariota is good for about 6-8 games before an inevitable injury, which the odds will just increase with age, and you need a guy with starting experience.  I hope Tannehill does well.  He paid in pain for his time here.  Almost Carr'd him out of football.  With one more contract as a backup, he can be set for life and get down to becoming a doctor.

Carr'd him out of football!!!  Nice.

Yeah, those first couple of seasons were PAINFUL to watch.  He got beat like a Trump Piñata full of hundred dollar bills at the DNC Meetings!!

I didn’t dream this last week did I? Tanny really is gone?

white1 wrote:I didn’t dream this last week did I? Tanny really is gone?

or better yet

Egad!!

The more I look at this, the more it sorta stinks!!!!

The Phins are sending Tannehill and their sixth-round pick in this year’s draft for the Titans’ seventh-rounder this year and a fourth-round pick in 2020. Plus paying $5 Million of the Titans guaranteed money to Tannehill!

And we give up a 6th this year for the Titans 7th!!

As someone said, Grier REALLY wanted to get away from Tannehill it seems.  

After pondering this for awhile, this looks like a VERY good deal for the Titans. They get an experienced QB who has played some good football at times, and the Phins look to have gotten skinned again!

But...when you look at this in the light of what this deal means going forward,  as an INDICATOR for how Grier is approaching this rebuild/remodel/reorganization of the Phins, you can see some encouraging signs from this deal IMHO.

One - They FINALLY decided Tannehill was never going to be the franchise QB they need.
Two - It cleared $8 Million Cap space this year and a whopping $25 million off the 2020 cap!
Three - If what I am reading is correct, the Phins will have $120 million in cap space and maybe 10 draft picks for 2020! If the compensatory picks are there.
Four  - This deal gets them a 4th rounder next year, which is likely why the $5 mill payment on the guaranteed portion of Tannehill's Titans money comes in IMHO.

So...could it be we have a GM who is locked in on a plan that will come to fruition NEXT SEASON?? And is actively making deals for the LONG TERM??? A GM who is setting the team up for long range success instead of this season and to heck with next year???

Could it be?  In Miami?

We shall see.

But...if the draft goes like I am hoping, I might have to change my attitude from "Wary, but willing to see how it goes" to one "I am starting to think this might not have been another in a long line of Ross screw ups".

Great post FF.

But...when you look at this in the light of what this deal means going forward, as an INDICATOR for how Grier is approaching this rebuild/remodel/reorganization of the Phins, you can see some encouraging signs from this deal IMHO.

One - They FINALLY decided Tannehill was never going to be the franchise QB they need.
Two - It cleared $8 Million Cap space this year and a whopping $25 million off the 2020 cap!
Three - If what I am reading is correct, the Phins will have $120 million in cap space and maybe 10 draft picks for 2020! If the compensatory picks are there.
Four - This deal gets them a 4th rounder next year, which is likely why the $5 mill payment on the guaranteed portion of Tannehill's Titans money comes in IMHO.

So...could it be we have a GM who is locked in on a plan that will come to fruition NEXT SEASON?? And is actively making deals for the LONG TERM??? A GM who is setting the team up for long range success instead of this season and to heck with next year???

This is my belief, and why the deal makes total sense for Miami. IMO the first point cannot be understated. TANNY HAD HIS CHANCE to establish himself - hell we could argue he had about 4 "make or break" seasons in a row - and he failed. Retaining him kills our rebuild in the crib.

Your point on cap space is valid, and it's a nice benefit.

IMO the 4th round pick in 2020 is a valuable chip for us, because we are trying to stockpile ammo in that draft to move up (if necessary).

The $5 million portion of salary the Fins paid is more valuable to Tennessee for cap considerations. In short, we have plenty of cap room (because we have no superstars) and they have very little. Ross cares about $5 million like you and I would sweat losing a $5 bill while out drinking.

But...if the draft goes like I am hoping, I might have to change my attitude from "Wary, but willing to see how it goes" to one "I am starting to think this might not have been another in a long line of Ross screw ups".

Totally agree. None of this works without effective drafting. There are two things that make me extremely hopeful our track record is about to improve. One, Grier moved very quickly to bring Marvin Allen on board as his right hand man. Allen is known league wide as an outstanding talent evaluator. His specialty is college scouting, so the draft is his forte. Two, we've actually managed to draft some talent over the last few years. Just not enough, and not consistently. We hit on guys like Tunsil, Howard, Grant, Drake (to an extent), and Fitzpatrick. To me, this indicates that our scouts are not a total loss. More likely, it's our meddling coaching staff (especially Gase recently) driving the guys we pick - because they have had the contractual power to do so.

One note on tempering expectations. EVERY TEAM misses on multiple picks every year. The Patriots draft record is almost laughable. Having Brady and Belichek goes miles towards making it irrelevant. That, and they are stockpiling so many picks, plus getting compensatory picks, they're making more choices than anyone else almost every year. All they need is contributors and role players, because their superstars have been in place for over a decade.

If we can get 3 starters in each draft - and GOOD starters with some becoming GREAT - that's an excellent draft class. The 2016 draft class is a home run, and that should not be up for debate. Tunsil and Howard are probowl caliber players and not just because they start. They are legitimately great, bordering on elite, players and they fill two critical building blocks. Adding Drake and Grant makes it a home run because they are both starter quality offensive weapons. That kind of contribution is what you can realistically hope for from a draft class, unless you are making 10+ choices.

Our problem right now is we followed that draft up with the 2017 draft. The top 3 choices look like a total miss (McMillan in our new scheme will put that question to rest, one way or another). Tankersley does not look salvageable, but I could be wrong. Godchaux and Taylor are "starters" but that does not count IMO unless they fill a starting role on an EFFECTIVE DEFENSE. Starting on a bottom-of-the-league defense does not indicate a good draft choice. If they both start in 2019 and we show VAST improvement on that unit, then they may salvage this class from being a total disaster. As it stands, this class got Gase fired. Ford would have to surprise, and there's another chance for this class to go from DISASTER to below average or average. This class COULD BE GOOD but you would need Godchaux, Taylor, Ford and McMillan to all become starter quality, with one of them turning into a great player. Harris is a wild card, because I've read speculation that his best fit is as a 3-4 OLB, and we need that skill set. He may blossom in a scheme more fitting to his skill set. I'm not holding out much hope.

The 2018 draft class looks survivable, and may very well turn out to meet the reasonable expectations for a solid draft. Fitzpatrick played in every game last year and showed he has playmaking ability in the secondary. His position flexibility should match very well with the Flores multiple defensive scheme. Baker showed the speed and coverage to provide that skill set to the scheme also. If they both start long term, that's a great start for this class. Gesicki looks to be a bust, but we've added TE talent that could allow the offensive staff to utilize him properly. Plus, we have adults with experience on offense now, so it's not a stretch to think we will improve in how we use players to their strengths (Caldwell, O'Shea, Flaherty). Ballage flashed some talent, and it begs the question why he didn't see the field more until late in the season. I'm not giving credit for drafting a kicker although that may be an overly harsh tactic. Sanders is starting and looks very good.

I would argue the biggest problem with the 2018 draft is not enough focus on the trenches. Instead we chose a FS, TE (x2), LB (x2), RB, CB and K. All boundary or second-level players. Meanwhile, both units on the field were weak up front. Another nail in the Gase coffin. However, from a raw success metric look, if Baker, Fitz, Sanders and Ballage all become starters and one (or more) develops into a pro bowl caliber player, this is actually a nice draft.

In summary, 2017 was a bad class but it may still be salvageable. If everyone we are hoping to develop actually does, we've got a nice start on a young foundation for the team. In that case, 2019 only needs to be a continuation. Plus, we MUST focus more on trench players. Harris played the right position, but clearly he was the wrong choice for this team.

I just have one question. White1, are you or have you ever considered a career as a motivational speaker? Because that last post somehow managed to even get ME fired up about this team    

white1 wrote:The Patriots draft record is almost laughable.  Having Brady and Belichek goes miles towards making it irrelevant.  That, and they are stockpiling so many picks, plus getting compensatory picks, they're making more choices than anyone else almost every year.  All they need is contributors and role players, because their superstars have been in place for over a decade.

I have been saying this for YEARS!!! But people won't believe me because the Pats keep reaching and winning Super Bowls, and TBH I can't blame them.

Disagree with you about Tunsil being elite and the scouts not being to blame, though. But this draft will be, as Omar loves to put it, telling.

Yep, great post white. Some thoughts on a couple of players you mentioned:

Baker - is he a scheme fit? I don't recall the Pats ever having a small, fast LB under Belichick...hard for me to see how he fits in this defense.

McMillan - I'm really not a big fan, but he could be a decent run stopper in the middle. I think both he and Baker are part-time players in this defense, and I expect us to eventually add a bunch of bigger DBs that can play LB in obvious passing situations. (McDonald could be one if we keep him this season.)

Ballage - I think he can be a good receiver, which could give him a hiuge role in this offense. But I'm not convinced he's more than an average runner. The story is that he didn't play more as a rookie because right now he can't block...but then again, none of our backs could last year so I'm not sure that's a legit reason to keep Ballage on the bench. Much of what Gase did left me scratching my head.

Godchaux and Taylor - I'm curious to see how Godchaux fits in...on paper, I'm not seeing him as a big part of the DL rotation. But I think Taylor could be a key piece - both inside and as a 3-4 end.

Grant - I don't see him as a starter at all. He's a nice mismatch that you can utilize a few times a game, but IMO it's a mistake to try to make him a full-time player. He's just too small. And - will he lose any speed after the injury???

Tunsil - I'm with 316: he's not elite at this point. Good, solid player and part of the rebuild if the team is willing to pay him an insane amount of money in the next year or two , but he's not among the league's best tackles right now. It will be interesting to see if he can develop further with better coaching instead of the dumpster fire that was Gase's staff.

Minkah Fitzpatrick - I fear that he doesn't have a very high ceiling...but in this defense he'll be fine and will play a variety of roles. He's perfectly suited for a "multiple scheme" defense.

So yeah, we have some pieces...but ultimately this regime's success/failure will come down to fixing the OL and DL and getting a QB. We fix those three areas, and everything else will follow. These next two drafts will make or break the Flores era.

Nice points by all.

W1 and DF316 - You can detract from the Pats drafting all you want to IMHO, and everything you say is true, and they have managed to hit on some busts like everyone else; but the fact remains, they DEVELOP the rookies better than almost any other team in the NFL IMO.

I mean the draft is a crapshoot anyway, but the difference in skill level and talent of the players (OVERALL) after the 1st round, is not all that great. How they get coached, developed, and put in the right mindset, and integrated into a squad is where the difference comes in.

That's why the Pats do not mind letting a developed player leave. Like Malcolm Butler. Belichick knew he could draft someone or sign someone cheaply, and develop them into as good a player as Butler. (without all the nuttiness from Butler. )

The Pats have figured out a formula for that, and it survives as long as Belicheck is there IMO. He loses Asst Coaches and Coordinators all the time and the Pats keep on winning.

W1 - Yeah, I agree about the focus of the draft last year. Of course, they brought in those free agent O-linemen and thought they were good. How they thought the interior D-line was in good shape....???

There are some good pieces in the last two drafts, but I think only Fitzpatrick may be seen as REALLY GOOD. Gesicki might have a chance, but I never saw him do anything special. The light may come on, but I am starting to think college star-NFL bust.

JMP - I think you are completely wrong about Fitzpatrick. If this dude doesn't turn into a Pro Bowler and become the leader of the defense I will be shocked. I do admit, he looked underwhelming in the defense last year, but underwhelming is a good description of the WHOLE sordid defense last year.

they DEVELOP the rookies better than almost any other team in the NFL IMO.

Excellent point.

CLEARLY a big problem for our team, going back for a long time, has been player development. Drafting is only the first step. The coaching staff has to do a good job integrating players into our scheme, teaching them what's important, and designing plays/schemes to their strength - that's AT LEAST half the equation, if not more.

I feel like JJ and his staff were able to develop players, at least on defense anyways. Since then.... maybe Sporano had some element of talent development. The rest.... not so much.

The seniority and resume of the coaches on Flores staff has me extremely hopeful to this end. Their reputations speak of the capability to teach. Caldwell is absolutely key on building an offense that works in both the running and passing game.

W1 - Yeah, I agree about the focus of the draft last year. Of course, they brought in those free agent O-linemen and thought they were good. How they thought the interior D-line was in good shape....???

Agree. Once again, Tannenbaum (and team) bought in on the ability to plug and play using aged free agents on the line. Sitton had a KNOWN injury history, which looks to have been ignored to a malpractice extent.

No idea what the plan was on defense, but if you look at the stats from last year, it totally failed. Sure, our coordinator was a junior coach who failed to rise to the challenge. I can't look past the total dearth of talent on the line, though. Bad, bad plan going into the season and the results speak for themselves.

White1, are you or have you ever considered a career as a motivational speaker?

LOL! Thanks DF.

I was trained as a leader in ROTC and served 4 years in the army, a long time ago. I'm a junior executive with Cox Communications, now. Communication has always been my strong suit. Hasn't always served me as well as it could, but no complaints. Thanks for the compliment!