In the weeks leading into the 2018 NFL Draft, there had been some chatter about the Miami Dolphins taking a quarterback in the first round that could be the eventual replacement for longtime starter Ryan Tannehill. However, the team elected to go another route while head coach Adam Gase has continued to voice that Tannehill is their unquestioned starter for the 2018 campaign.
With all of that in mind, the 29-year-old voiced on Wednesday that he wasn't the bit concerned about losing the starting job but does realize that he needs to perform on the field in order to keep his strong grasp over it (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk).
“I wasn’t worried,” Tannehill said at a press conference. “Every team has to evaluate positions and make the best decisions for the organization, but it never changed my course of action or my plan. I knew I have to go out and perform whether they drafted somebody or not. That’s the case this year, that’s the case every year. You have to go out and perform or you won’t be around.”
The Dolphins have shown their strong commitment to Tannehill as being the starter despite him missing the entire 2017 season due to a torn ACL. There is a high level of belief that he can step back into the fold and lead the franchise to success like had done previously in the 2016 season before he suffered an ACL injury late in that campaign.
Tannehill has already begun to prove that he is finally healthy returning to practice in the voluntary OTAs this week that should see him back in the mix without any concerns in that regard. It may just simply come down to whether he can lead the Dolphins to success on the field because if not those long-term questions will arise once again.
He still has three more years on his four-year, $77 million deal that runs through the 2020 season, but that could all change if he struggles to prove he can be a viable starter in 2018. It's all on his shoulders to show that he can still be their franchise quarterback.
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