Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill confirmed Saturday night that he has a Grade-II medial collateral ligament sprain in his left knee, but he disputed a report by an NBC sideline reporter that the MCL is completely torn off the bone.
"A sprain could be a completely torn anything," Tannehill said in the locker room after the Dolphins' win over the Jets. "It's not completely all the way off but definitely [off the bone]."
Tannehill then said of his MCL injury, "It's categorized as a Grade II so there's some integrity left."
Tannehill injured ligaments in his knee in last week's win over the Arizona Cardinals. Saturday night's game was the first start he missed since being drafted by the Dolphins in 2012.
ProFootballTalk.com reported that Tannehill's Grade II MCL sprain could require four to six weeks to recover from, and that he could need surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament after the season.
Tannehill's postgame interview was ended before he could answer a question about whether he will need surgery this offseason.
Tannehill was on the field at MetLife Stadium about 90 minutes before kickoff Saturday watching new starting quarterback Matt Moore throw passes. Tannehill was walking with the aid of a crutch. He also appeared to have his left leg immobilized.
Tannehill, wearing blue sweatpants and a gray hoodie that was pulled over his head, spent lots of time on the field before the game, watching closely as the offense went through its pregame routine.
Tannehill stood on the sideline, leaning on a crutch, during the first half. After the Dolphins' first possession Tannehill huddled with Moore, offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen, backup quarterback T.J. Yates and practice squad quarterback Brandon Doughty to look over the photos of plays.
Then Tannehill spoke briefly with wide receiver Jarvis Landry (Moore missed him on a third down pass) and running back Damien Williams.
Tannehill was frequently seen clapping and yelling encouragement to his teammates, and many of them acknowledged his presence on the field by patting him on the back or shaking hands.
Before Saturday night, Tannehill hadn't talked to reporters since sustaining his sprained ACL and MCL in last week's 26-23 victory over Arizona. He almost entered the locker room during the week while reporters were in there, but Tannehill, who had a cast on his leg from his thigh to his ankle, turned around when he realized the media was still in the locker room.
Tannehill had established career bests this season in completion percent (67.1), passer rating (93.5) and yards per attempt (7.7), and threw 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions before getting injured.
