It has been a long road to recovery for Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill from a torn ACL that he suffered last August that forced him to miss the entire 2017 season.

Tannehill has since been on track to get back on the field this upcoming season as he has returned to the practice field this week for voluntary OTAs. Given that he has issues with his knee for each of the last two years, the 29-year-old stated that he plans on wearing a brace to provide further protection for his surgically-repaired knee, according to Chris Perkins of the Sun-Sentinel.

“I’ll wear a brace,” he said. “It does nothing structurally. It’s purely to prevent what started that whole train wreck with my injury.”

This decision shouldn't come as much of a surprise given that he is coming off a serious knee injury that knocked him out of the lineup for an entire year. It is something that could occur again if he doesn't have the proper protection to the area as many of the game's top quarterbacks have also worn braces on the field to prevent those types of injuries such as Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers. While quarterbacks such as Matt Ryan and Andrew Luck, who haven't suffered leg injuries wear them as a precautionary measure.

In fact, Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowler Carson Wentz is expected to wear a brace for the rest of his career after tearing his ACL and LCL last December. It is a common preventative method to help keep quarterbacks healthy and away from any lingering issues stemming from that original health issue.

The Dolphins have been quite confident that Tannehill can still be their long-term answer under center for the 2018 season and well beyond that. He has previously shown that he can lead the team to success, which is something that the coaching staff led by head coach Adam Gase have voiced that they believe he can accomplish once again.