Dolphins Trade Ryan Tannehill To Titans

The Titans have a new quarterback. On Friday, the Titans acquired Ryan Tannehill in a trade with the Dolphins, according to a tweet from Tannehill’s agents. ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe tweets that Miami will be receiving a 2019 seventh-rounder (presumably No. 233) and a 2020 fourth-rounder. Meanwhile, the Titans will be getting Tannehill and a 2019 sixth-rounder (presumably No. 188).

As a part of the deal, the Titans have also restructured Tannehill’s contract for the 2019 season. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that it’s effectively a one-year deal worth $7MM guaranteed. There are playing-time incentives that could boost that total to $12MM. Either way, Tannehill will be one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Furthermore, it’s not as significant of an investment for the Titans thanks to the Dolphins; Miami ultimately paid $5MM of that $7MM guarantee via a signing bonus, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).

With Marcus Mariota under center in Tennessee, Tannehill will be eyeing a backup role from the onset. However, the veteran could end up working his way into the lineup; Mariota has missed at least one regular season game in each of his four seasons, including two in 2018. With Tannehill, the Titans at least have reliable insurance in case their starter does go down.

The 30-year-old finished last season having completed 64.2-percent of his passes for 1,979 yards, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 11 starts. He led the Dolphins to a 5-6 record during his outings. While these numbers aren’t outstanding, they’re probably significantly better than what the Titans incumbent backup, Blaine Gabbert, would be able to put up.

The Dolphins have been dangling Tannehill for some time and had little interest in keeping him under the terms of his contract. Tannehill was scheduled to carry a $26.6MM cap hit for Miami in 2019 with a roughly even split in dead money and cap savings in the event of a release.

This week, the Dolphins tried – and failed – to land Tyrod Taylor and Teddy Bridgewater. With few free agent difference-makers remaining, the organization may be forced to shift their focus to the draft. At the very least, it’s unlikely the Dolphins roll into the regular season with their current quarterbacks depth chart, a grouping that consists of Luke Falk and Jake Rudock.

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