DAVIE, Fla. – All eyes are on quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the Miami Dolphins open training camp Thursday.
Tannehill hasn't played a down for the Dolphins since suffering a season-ending knee injury in December 2016 for the playoff-bound team. He then missed the entire 2017 season after tearing his ACL early last August.
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Prior to that, Tannehill was injury-free, starting every game for the team since Miami made him the eighth overall pick in the 2012 draft.
Tannehill is 37-40 as a starter. He has thrown for 18,455 yards, 106 touchdowns and 66 interceptions in his career. He has also rushed for 1,065 yards and six scores.
The Dolphins contemplated drafting a quarterback earlier this year but opted to stick with Tannehill.
Third-year head coach Adam Gase turned to veteran quarterback Jay Cutler last season after Tannehill went down, but the Dolphins regressed from 10-6 to 6-10 and missed the playoffs.
"It's like nothing ever happened." That's Tannehill's assessment of his knee after the first day of Dolphins training camp.
Tannehill is wearing a brace, however, with "Tannehill 2.0" written across the back of it.
The brace is for protection, of course, but it's also a reminder that something did happen to that knee. Twice -- and it derailed the Dolphins' 2017 season.
The good news, though, is that Tannehill doesn't look like a QB coming off multiple knee injuries. He moves around much like he did before the injury and he said his time away has helped him grow as a leader, processing the information he's gathered over the past 20 months or so while he hasn't been able to play in games.
Tannehill looks good and sounds well. This Dolphins season is riding on whether he plays well.
Ryan Tannehill wearing a brace to protect that previously injured knee pic.twitter.com/p1rTMxUhL2
— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) July 26, 2018
Dolphins sign a new receiver: Steel Tannehill. Short on size, but the hands look good. pic.twitter.com/2hYhRU4HYy
— Clay Ferraro (@ClayWPLG) July 26, 2018
Ryan Tannehill meeting fans and signing some autographs after practice. pic.twitter.com/DL7fm65y2e
— Will Manso (@WillManso) July 26, 2018
Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills also addressed the controversy surrounding the NFL and the national anthem.
Dolphins WR Kenny Stills addressing the latest NFL national anthem talk and the controversy that hit the team last week. pic.twitter.com/1NuAUc7gvP
— Will Manso (@WillManso) July 26, 2018