Miami Dolphins: Can Moving Ryan Tannehill land a top 10 pick?

If the Miami Dolphins are looking to move on from Ryan Tannehill this is their year. With the team finally waving the white flag and going into full rebuild mode, expectations are low. First-year head coach Brian Flores will more than likely have a long leash and fans have already been let know that fixings the franchise will come before a winning season.

So of course, there’s the question of what will happen with struggling quarterback Ryan Tannehill. His time in Miami seems to overstay his welcome, he’s got a heavy contract, and never hit his ceiling with the Dolphins. Surely if the team is looking to move on, getting something in return via trade would be their best option and their smartest move might come from the most unlikely of places, the Oakland Raiders.

With 11 picks in the 2019 NFL draft, three in the first round, the Raiders have plenty of wiggle room to gamble. There have been talks that head coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr are not on the same page out in Oakland. Gruden has wasted no time trading away players he didn’t feel fit the franchise’s future plans, so there’s no guarantee that Carr is safe. In order to move on from Carr, there would need to be a “plan B” in place and a rookie quarterback shouldn’t be in the mix. Ryan Tannehill could be that option.

There’s been no smoke screen from Gruden on his desire to find a pass rusher. With the three picks in the first round they can afford to move down and stockpile picks to rebuild as many players in Gruden’s vision. Only a handful of teams will be searching for pass rushers before Miami’s pick at 13, do the Dolphins have enough to swap their 13 and Tannehill for the 4th pick overall? Tannehill and the 13th might not be enough to jump 9 spots into the top 5, so the Dolphins would have to get creative. Rebuilding this season would mean they’d attempt to stockpile as many picks as they could in this year’s draft but might have some wiggle room next year with a second or third round pick.

By trading up to 4, Miami would leapfrog the teams with quarterback need. At 4th they’d have the Cardinals (Rosen), the 49ers (Garoppolo), and Jets (Darnold) ahead of them. Moving up would be a smart play as they’d slide in just before the Giants (6th), the Jags (7th), and potentially the Bengals (11th) and have the first crack at this year’s top QB prospect. Now there’s no guarantee that the Cardinals or Jets with new head coaches would handcuff themselves to their current quarterback. However, with this offseason being a buyer’s market, either could be in the market for a veteran to challenge the young signal callers.

Trading with Oakland is a “win, win” scenario for both teams. Miami could move up and get the quarterback of the future. Oakland could move down and still get an elite pass rusher just outside the top 10. Instead of trading out one of their first round picks, the Raiders could then move on from Carr and stockpile picks in the later rounds. It’ll be hard for Oakland to gain footing in the first round with Carr but teams would more than likely pair a second/sixth round deal for the once promising QB.

With a handful of teams looking to move on from their current struggling quarterback, the free agent market will be red hot. Miami could secure their future by moving up to the fourth pick and stay out of the bidding war for this year’s top free agent quarterbacks. Falling back with a journeyman signal caller could give them just enough time to let the rookie pick up the speed of the game. Even resigning Brock Osweiler at a low cost could buy the team enough time to get through at least the preseason. While Osweiler doesn’t instill confidence in most fans’ perspective, the Dolphins can’t afford to trade away picks to move up or a bloated free agent contract. Does Miami have enough to move on from Tannehill by using him as a bargaining chip?

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