The Miami Dolphins appear to be set on Ryan Tannehill and his future with the franchise. The quarterback has seen his ups and downs in his three years with the team while failing to bring the franchise any postseason success. However, he does continue to improve which has the Dolphins thinking long-term with his next contract. However, contracts have yet to begin with the former first-round draft pick.
Tannehill is officially eligible to get a new contract with the Miami Dolphins. The quarterback is preparing to enter the final year of his contract after getting drafted in 2012. He has a fifth-year option that could be exercised which would be extremely costly for Miami as the quarterback would earn an average of the 10 highest quarterback cap numbers in 2015. That has the Dolphins thinking of a contract extension, but negotiations have not begun.
According to David Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Dolphins are laying out the frame work of a contract that would range around seven years and $105 million. That would be a very serious commitment for a quarterback that has yet to visit the postseason. Tannehill comes from a quarterback class that includes Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson who have tasted the playoffs far more than the Dolphins quarterback so determining a contract is not easy.
General manager Dennis Hickey has endorsed Tannehill's future in Miami as some wondered if the quarterback was really the answer to franchise success. He noted he was excited over the progress from the quarterback and believed Tannehill had the skillset to build upon.
"We are excited about [Tannehill's] future as a Dolphin. ... We saw a lot of progress [in 2014]," Hickey said, via the Miami Herald. "Dawn [Aponte] has done a great job with the cap. ... Now we have some difficult decisions to make."
Those difficult decisions could come in many forms as several popular names are predicted to be cap casualties. Mike Wallace headlines the group as the wide receiver has a high cap hit without the stats to match it. The Herald reports Wallace and Hickey met over the weekend to discuss the receiver's future with the team. It is unclear exactly what came of that meeting, but most expect Wallace to be released. Brian Hartline, Dannell Ellerbe and Cortland Finnegan could follow.
