Dolphins Considered Teddy Bridgewater
Before the Dolphins brought Jay Cutler out of retirement, they considered a number of other quarterbacks. In addition to Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton, Miami also internally discussed Teddy Bridgewater of the Vikings, Brock Osweiler of the Browns, and Cardinals QB Blaine Gabbert. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Sign Jay Cutler]
As far as we know the Dolphins didn’t get far enough to reach out to the Vikings about a potential Bridgewater trade and that makes sense considering his murky medical situation. Bridgewater is currently on the PUP list and no one knows what his status will be to start the season. It’s possible that Bridgewater’s gruesome knee injury from 2016 will keep him off the field until 2018. Even then, no one knows what kind of player he will be once he’s ready to return.
Osweiler was mentioned early on as a possibility when Ryan Tannehill suffered his knee injury, but the Browns rejected at least one trade offer for him this offseason and they’re leaning towards starting him in Week 1. The Browns may reconsider that position if the right offer comes their way, but the Dolphins are no longer a potential suitor after landing Cutler.
Dolphins’ Jarvis Landry Accused Of Battery
On Monday morning, Dolphins coach Adam Gase confirmed to reporters that wide receiver Jarvis Landry is under investigation for battery. The news was first broken by Andy Slater of WINZ.
The incident in question took place earlier this year with the mother of Landry’s child, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) hears. Police were called to the scene, but ultimately local authorities chose not to prosecute Landry. The wide receiver cooperated with police and also provided the Dolphins with information, Rapoport hears.
The news comes at a particularly poor time for Landry since he has been pushing the team for a contract extension. The Dolphins have yet to make an offer to him (or even indicate that an offer is on the way), but Gase insists that is unrelated to any unresolved legal issue.
Of course, Landry can still face league discipline even though he will not face legal consequences for the alleged incident.
Dolphins To Place Ted Larsen On IR
Ted Larsen‘s torn biceps will require a stay on injured reserve, Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets. The hope is that the Dolphins can bring him after Week 8, the earliest point at which players can return from IR. 
[RELATED: Dolphins Sign Jay Cutler]
Larsen was expected to serve as one of the Dolphins’ starting guards in Week 1. Although he wasn’t stellar last year, he was the team’s best option next to Kraig Urbik. Miami will now have to consider backups like Jermon Bushrod and fifth round pick Issac Asiata. The Dolphins may also want to look at free agent options, like the newly available Orlando Franklin. Of course, after his stay with the Saints was terminated in less than a week, the Dolphins would want to take a good look at his knee injury.
Last year, players were permitted to only bring one player back from injured reserve during the season. This year, teams will be allowed to designate two players for return from IR. Teams do not have to declare their one IR-DTR player in advance, meaning that the Dolphins can monitor Larsen’s situation and bring him back when he is fully healthy. Conversely, the Dolphins reserve the right to change course and use their two IR-DTR spots on other players.
Jackson: Ryan Tannehill Pay Cut Unlikely
- Two anonymous agents told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald any possible Dolphins overtures to coax Ryan Tannehill into a pay cut are likely to be met with a rejection on agent Pat Dye’s part. Only $5.25MM in injury guarantees remain on Tannehill’s deal, which runs through 2020. Tannehill’s 2018 salary ($17.5MM) becomes guaranteed on the fifth day of the next league year. And although there may be higher-end quarterbacks available in 2018 compared to the past several years, they would likely cost more per year than Tannehill’s deal requires, Jackson writes.
Dolphins Considered Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow
A common theme appears to have developed in Miami this week in the Dolphins’ search for quarterback help after Ryan Tannehill‘s injury: familiarity with coach Adam Gase.
As a result, some interesting names were considered. Although it’s not certain how seriously these considerations were, Armando Salguero reports (on Twitter) at some point in the process this week former Gase Broncos charges Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow were discussed.
Salguero also confirms the Dolphins’ previously reported interest in Colin Kaepernick, adding more names were likely bandied about during this emergency process (Twitter link). He also notes (via Twitter) some of the names were discarded quickly.
While the Dolphins landed their preferred target in convincing Jay Cutler to come out of retirement, their range of candidates is obviously notable. Set to turn 30 next week, Tebow has not played a down of regular-season football since 2012 and is currently in the New York Mets’ farm system. A historically inaccurate passer, Tebow did lead the Broncos to seven wins in 2011 and a dramatic playoff triumph. Gase was coaching Denver’s quarterbacks at the time, but OC Mike McCoy adjusted the scheme dramatically to fit Tebow’s unique skill set.
Orton, 34, played in a more comparable system to what Gase used with Cutler in Chicago and with the Dolphins in 2016. The passer opened three straight seasons as the Broncos’ starter before Tebow replaced him midway through ’11, and Denver primarily used a three-wide shotgun set for the less mobile signal-caller. Orton, however, retired after the 2014 season.
Jay Cutler Contract Details Emerging
The Dolphins‘ Jay Cutler addition easily became the NFL story of the week, and more specifics on the agreement are emerging. Cutler’s $5MM base salary will be augmented by $5MM in bonuses and $3MM in incentives, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Between Cutler, Ryan Tannehill and Matt Moore, the Dolphins are spending more than $32MM on quarterback salaries this season. This salary will represent Cutler’s lowest in a season since 2013, prior to his second Bears pact.
Rapoport (video link) didn’t rule out the possibility of a multiyear Dolphins/Cutler union, but said as of now the plan is just for this season. He cites Cutler’s desire to play, noting the interest he had in the Texans’ job, and possible success with Adam Gase as a reason the door is slightly ajar for the 34-year-old passer to have a beyond-2017 future with the Dolphins.
- Of course, Tannehill is under contract through the 2020 season. But Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com notes (via Twitter) the Dolphins can escape from Tannehill’s contract after this season, if they choose. No fully guaranteed money remains on Tannehill’s deal, although a $5.25MM injury guarantee for 2018 is in place. Breer categorizes the 2018-20 portion of Tannehill’s contract as team options. The Dolphins, though, don’t have another long-term solution lined up beyond the suddenly injury-prone Tannehill.
- This Cutler signing will make a Jarvis Landry extension more difficult, James Walker of ESPN.com offers. The Dolphins entered Sunday with $17MM-plus in cap space, with just $3MM projected to be available in 2018. While the latter figure doesn’t mean a ton yet due to roster moves that could me made to increase it, the Dolphins lost some possible carryover money due to the Cutler signing, one Walker calls a mistake. Gase’s Bears campaign produced the 23rd-ranked passing offense in 2015 and a 6-10 record. Although, the Bears were playing without some skill-position talent that season. But Cutler has only led one team, the ’10 Bears, to the postseason and is coming off an injury-marred season. As for Landry, not much has developed on that front.
Jay Cutler Resolution Could Come As Soon As Today
- Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald says Dolphins brass hopes to resolve the Jay Cutler question soon, and that resolution could come as early as today (Twitter link).
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- After working out tight end Emanuel Byrd, the Packers signed the talent out of Marshall, the team announced. They played cornerback Herb Waters on IR. The Chiefs initially signed Byrd as a UDFA in May but released him earlier this week.
- The Dolphins are signing guard Isame Faciane, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports (on Twitter). He’s spent time with both the Bills and Vikings, the Minnesota stint ending after the Vikes released him from their practice squad following a DUI arrest, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Faciane finished last season on the Buffalo taxi squad. A biceps injury will sideline recently signed interior lineman Ted Larsen for a while.
- Miami also waived tackle Terry Poole, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). Poole was originally a Seahawks fourth-round pick in 2015; he has yet to play in an NFL game.
- Wide receiver Rasheed Bailey will sign with the Browns, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter). Cleveland also signed tight end Nate Lese and waived defensive lineman Jamal Marcus and wide receiver James Wright with injury designations, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. The Eagles cut Bailey in May. He’s been with the Eagles and Chargers and spent time in the CFL.
- The Texans signed wideout Marcus Leak, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com reports. Houston won’t have the services of Will Fuller for months after the 2016 first-round pick broke his collarbone this week. The Colts waived Leak in June.
- Kansas City signed cornerbacks Jacoby Glenn and Larry Scott, Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. The Chiefs waived Keith Baxter. Glenn spent parts of the past two seasons with the Bears, mostly on the practice squad before being waived in May. A Chargers UDFA addition out of Oregon State in 2016, Scott ended up with the Colts but was cut in May.
- Tackle Martin Wallace cleared waivers and will revert to the Saints‘ IR, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
Schefter: Family Factoring Into Cutler's Call
The Dolphins‘ quarterback situation has surged to the NFL news forefront this week, and on Saturday, the latest coming out of the possible Jay Cutler/Adam Gase reunion indicates the quarterback is leaning toward staying in the broadcast booth. One of the key elements in Cutler’s decision-making process will be his family, with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reporting the 34-year-old passer is having a hard time making a commitment that would keep him away from them throughout this season.
ESPN’s James Walker adds a Ryan Tannehill surgery could shift Gase into a more aggressive recruiting mode for Cutler, with whom the Dolphins HC worked on the 2015 Bears. Cutler threw 25 touchdown passes compared to 11 interceptions for an injury-depleted Chicago offense that year. Matt Moore remains the Miami backup. Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III and Shaun Hill are among the top options in free agency if the Dolphins and Cutler don’t end up making an emergency-circumstance contract work.
Latest On Dolphins’ QB Quandary
Adam Gase attempted to provide clarity on the Dolphins’ quarterback situation on Saturday, but the position is far from solidified after the latest Ryan Tannehill injury occurrence.
Gase confirmed he’s spoken with Jay Cutler about being a possible emergency-circumstance addition, but the second-year coach said only one conversation has occurred. Gase did say Cutler expressed his interest in a Miami job, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports. Gase said Cutler did not seek an arrangement where he’d only leave his Fox post for a guaranteed starting job, per Salguero.
“He was interested,” Gase said of Cutler’s status, via Salguero. “I think he’s just trying to figure out everything. … He didn’t demand anything.”
Salguero offers that a reunion between Gase and Cutler, who worked together for the 2015 Bears, remains the most likely conclusion to the Dolphins’ sudden passer crisis.
Meanwhile, both Salguero and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk are hearing matters are not calm on the Tannehill front. Salguero said he’s been told “over and over” reports of the 29-year-old quarterback having avoided structural damage are not correct. The Miami-based reporter adds the team is considering all options, including a season-ending ACL surgery for Tannehill. That’s the buzz Florio is getting, offering (on Twitter) the feeling is it’s “quietly becoming a given” the sixth-year starter will undergo surgery.
Tannehill, of course, did not undergo surgery for the partial tear he suffered late last season.
Jeff Darlington of ESPN.com, though, threw some cold water on a Cutler/Dolphins pact. The ESPN reporter tweeted Cutler is “leaning heavily” toward staying retired and beginning a broadcasting career. But this situation has brought unique intrigue for Cutler, whom Darlington reports (on Twitter) would only consider the Dolphins as a return destination. Even though Miami’s supporting cast — Jarvis Landry/DeVante Parker/Kenny Stills/Julius Thomas/Jay Ajayi — would represent one of the better groups of Cutler’s career, it doesn’t look like the 34-year-old free agent would return to football (Twitter link). But Darlington adds, via Twitter, Cutler isn’t 100 percent certain about spurning this interest yet.
Cutler’s television agent, Mark Block, tweeted his client hasn’t decided anything yet.