Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase has hitched his wagon to Ryan Tannehill for this season, vowing after Sunday's 30-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans that he won't bench the starting quarterback no matter what happens in 2016.
Gase clearly has his reasons despite a disappointing performance Sunday from Tannehill, who threw two interceptions and was sacked six times while working behind an injury-depleted offensive line.
"We need to give him a chance with protection," Gase said during his Monday news conference, referring to how Tannehill has been sacked 17 times in five games. "When you hit your back foot and get sacked [it's not good]."
Gase has consistently pledged to give the Dolphins' 2012 first-round pick the kind of support he's lacked from past coaching staffs, so don't expect him to back down to the boo-birds and bench Tannehill, who has completed 64.1 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,272 yards and six touchdowns (seven interceptions) this season.
However, Gase's support can only go so far, and it can only last so long if Tannehill continues to struggle.
The Dolphins' front office hired Gase because they felt he could fix Tannehill. That same front office will have a tough decision to make on Tannehill this upcoming offseason based on the five-year, $96 million extension team czar Mike Tannenbaum signed Tannehill to before last season.
At the end of this season, Tannehill will have received all of the $21.5 million he was fully guaranteed in the initial deal.
Tannehill is due $18 million for 2017 season. Of that, $3.5 million is already guaranteed because he's on the roster past the fifth day of the 2016 league year.
All of that $18 million becomes fully guaranteed on fifth day of 2017 league year, so that means the Dolphins will need to act fast if they want to move on from Tannehill during the offseason.
If the Dolphins trade Tannehill the franchise takes a $6.9 million cap hit in dead money, but it would create $13.4 million in cap space. If Miami makes Tannehill a June 1 designated cut, the Dolphins would create $14.5 million in cap space after eating $5.8 million in dead money.
That means the Dolphins must decide based on this season's output if they would rather pay Tannehill $18 million in 2017, or release him and use that $14.5 million to improve the roster some other way.
Of course, the question of who would replace Tannehill will be a major issue.
The Dolphins may have a few options, like the 49ers' Colin Kaepernick, who will likely be released, or Brian Hoyer, Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Geno Smith, who are all expected to become free agents. And there's also the possibility of selecting a quarterback like Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, Clemson's DeShaun Watson, UNC's Mitch Trubisky, UM's Brad Kaaya or Ole Miss' Chad Kelly early in the 2017 draft.
But will any of those options be a better alternative than Tannehill, who would be entering his second season in Gase's offense?
The bottom line is the Dolphins must decide _ over the next 11 games _ whether they are comfortable paying Tannehill a salary that makes him the 13th highest paid quarterback in the NFL.
The Dolphins took a risk on Tannehill, drafting the former college receiver early in the 2012 draft, and investing four-plus seasons into his development.
The rest of this season is about the franchise's decision makers _ owner Steve Ross, Gase, Tannenbaum and general manager Chris Grier _ deciding whether to pull the plug or remain committed to that investment in Tannehill, continuing to wait on a favorable return.
