Ryan Tannehill – May 23, 2018
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(How did it feel to go back out there yesterday and today?) – “It feels amazing to be back out there. It’s been a long road to be back on the field – a lot of hard work, a lot of time and effort put in by myself and guys in the training room working with me, rehabbing me and getting me right. There’s been a lot of help along the way and there’s been a lot of work to get back and put a helmet back on and step on the grass again. I was just telling the guys that I can remember sitting in the cafeteria looking through the glass like a little kid that’s not allowed to go outside and play. I just feel blessed to be able to go out and compete and play, and do what I love.”
(Does this feel more like Year 3 in Head Coach Adam Gase’s offense to you or Year 2 after going through last year and having to watch through the glass?) – “I think it’s kind of a different situation. It’s tough to say what year or whatever. While I wasn’t getting physical reps last year, I got a lot of mental reps. I was in all of the meetings, going through the game plans and talking through practices after practice. I was getting all of the mental reps that I would if I was playing but obviously didn’t get the physical reps. Nothing can compare to the physical reps, but it’s not like I wasn’t along for the ride last year and didn’t see what was happening and try to stay sharp and engaged as much as I could mentally. I definitely grew last year and learned a lot of football. Now it’s just a matter of putting it into action physically.”
(You’re not wearing a brace right now. What’s the plan going forward, especially when the games begin? Are you going to wear one this season?) – “Yes, I’ll wear a brace. Like I said before, it does nothing structurally. It’s purely to kind of prevent what started that whole train wreck of my injury, just getting hit right on the side of the lead leg. The brace can help prevent that and minimize that damage, and hopefully make it a non-issue moving forward.”
(With the last year and a half, is there anything you wish you had done differently or a decision you wish you had made differently as far as the knee?) – “No. I think obviously with how things ended up, it’s like, ‘Dang it. Did we miss something?’”
(Yes, but taking that out of it. Without playing the result, do you feel like any mistakes were made?) – “No. Going back to the process we went through after I first got injured, I got multiple opinions. Everyone’s opinion lined up on the plan of action and we followed that plan precisely. Everyone was in conclusion on what the answer should be. Going back, I would do it the same way. Obviously it didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. I wish maybe someone else – a doctor – would have given me a different opinion that might have changed that, but we sought out the best options we could find and everyone was in agreeance and the knee was stable. It was just unfortunate the way it turned out.”
(How were you able to get through the toughest times? Was there someone in particular or something you did mentally to get you through the darkest times?) – “My wife, honestly. Having her supporting me throughout that season was tough. It was a long year. There were some dark times. I tried to stay positive and take it in stride as much as I could and just do the best that I could in rehab and grow and get stronger each and every day; but it’s hard. It was a hard time for me just not being around the guys, not being out at practice. I was around in meetings but it’s just not the same. You can’t replicate that time of grinding it out on the practice field together and going through the ups and downs of playing games and going through practice. That was the hardest part for me. I think initially when you get hurt, you kind of think, ‘Oh, the games will be what I miss the most.’ And yes, I really missed the games. It was tough every Sunday seeing the guys run out there on the field and not being a part of it. But what I miss the most was day in and day out, the grind of the preparation, of competing with the guys, pushing them and trying to make them the best players that they could be, making the offense the best it could be and just driving the offense. That was the hardest part for me.”
(Can you take us back to the injury very briefly and what you thought when you made the cut? When you were walking off the field, did you know the severity or did you suspect?) – “Yes. I felt it shift and I knew it wasn’t good. Obviously you don’t really know, but I knew it wasn’t good.”
(Not good but did you think really not good or you might be out for a few weeks or this could be an entire season?) – “Yes, I knew it wasn’t good. Honestly, I wasn’t really processing all of that. I just knew it was bad. I don’t know. I kind of went into a shock a little bit of ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ It’s been a long time since then and it’s tough to go back to that state but I’m a long way from there and feeling really good right now.”
(Have the doctors put any limitations on you, even just rolling out or stuff like that, at this stage? Or do you just do whatever they ask you to do?) – “I just went last week – I had my surgery in Dallas – so I went back last week and got fully cleared to play football. I’ve been a full participant in the offseason program so far and I’m cleared to play football. So fully, whatever that entails, I can go do it.”
(When you hear that, obviously there has to be some … A little bit in the back of your mind it has to be ‘My God, please don’t let this ever happen again.’ Do you have to get past that? Do you just let yourself let it rip and go for it? How does that work for you?) – “Yes, honestly at this point it’s just let it rip. Throughout the rehab process, you’re pushing it. I’m grinding it out, I’m running, I’m cutting. I’m doing a lot more agility and movements that I won’t really be doing playing football. The knee has been tested to the ninth degree of pushing it as far as it can go. When I’m out on the field, I’m just playing football. It’s past thinking about it or questioning it. Now it’s just go out and do my job.”
(You had a moment today where, for example, you stepped up and kind of buckled, and then you threw the ball. It didn’t cross your mind at all, ‘I buckled there and I’m fine.’ Or ‘I buckled there and don’t do this?’) – “No. I got stepped on. I was looking to the left. I had Danny (Amendola) on an in-and-out route. They in-and-outted him and he got covered up, so I had to move in the pocket and got stepped on right as I started moving. I was just playing. I didn’t even think about it. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it since it happened until you asked me the question. So yes, I feel really good. I don’t question it and don’t really think about it. I’m just playing and trying to get back in the groove of playing football again. It’s been a while, so I’m knocking some dust off, getting back on the field, being in the pocket and moving around – command at the line of scrimmage and all of those types of things. It’s not as clean as I want it to be yet, but I’m getting better and just being on the field is a lot of fun for me.”
(Do you consider yourself to have had two separate knee injuries or just one knee injury?) – “I mean it happened on two separate occasions but one ball started the whole thing rolling and then it just kind of finished it off. Yes, obviously (they were) highly connected and the ACL just wasn’t the same after the first knee injury. Yes, it was eight months apart but it was one chain of events.”
(You have a much different set of skill position players around you since the last time you were in a football game. The idea of WR Jarvis Landry, who was one of your targets moving on … Your thoughts on that? And also, getting to know all of these guys that you have around you now.) – “Yes, losing Jarvis is tough. He’s a heck of a competitor. He’s one of the most competitive guys on the football field. He loves the game. He loves playing. He loves competing. He loves winning. I think everyone saw that. Obviously he’s not the easiest guy to replace and he’s tough to replace, but I’m really excited about the guys that we brought in. I think we’ve brought in veteran guys, guys that have played at high levels, guys that have played for championships and can really help us. With the combination of the guys we have, we really have a stacked receiver room right now and you feel really confident that no matter who is in the game, we have good matchups and can win. When you add Albert Wilson, when you add Danny Amendola, Frank Gore in the backfield, all of these guys have played at a really high level for a long time. I’m excited about playing with them.”
(Can you describe your offseason workouts with WR Danny Amendola and then can you talk about what he brings attitude-wise to this team?) – “Yes, Danny is a grinder. I’m excited to play with him. Like I said, he’s been around a while. He’s played a lot of football. He understands the game and he works really hard. That’s the first thing that impressed me is just how hard he works day in and day out. We’re throwing back in March off-site and he’s grinding. He’ll just keep going, keep going, keep going and he’ll never question, look tired or anything. He just keeps going. He’s been a lot of fun to play with so far and we just have to keep building that relationship and get fully on the same page. That’s what we have this time of year for is to do that, to iron out the kinks, and then once the fall comes, we’ll be in good shape.”
(The back half of 2016 – the last eight games that you played – how did you feel about that as far as was that maybe a little bit of a breakthrough for you? And how were things going for you and Head Coach Adam Gase at that point?) – “We kind of went on a run there and I felt like I was finally starting to play really good football, being in command of the offense and understanding what we were trying to accomplish with each play call, the situation and what Coach Gase is trying to get out of the different play calls that come in. So I felt like over the few weeks before (the injury), I finally got over the hump of learning the offense and really just feeling good about knowing what Adam wants and then going out and executing it. So yes, it was tough.”
(How fluent are you in the way that Head Coach Adam Gase thinks now that you’ve spent a year just standing next to him on the sideline?) – “I think now there’s no question. Obviously we’re still ironing out little things here and there but most of the time, I know exactly what he wants when a play comes in. Like I said, I learned a lot last year, not only offense-wise but just watching guys operate and how the course of a season goes up and down, and how to deal with guys. I would never choose to be in that situation but I think I learned a lot that’s going to help me for the rest of my career.”
(During the offseason, Head Coach Adam Gase said many times that you would be the starting quarterback. I’m wondering if he told you that and if you had an eye on the draft because there were rumors about QB Josh Allen and all of that. Were you ever worried? And Adam told you specifically that you would be our starting quarterback?) – “Yes, he told me that. No, I wasn’t worried. Obviously every team has to evaluate positions and make the best decision for the organization that they think is appropriate; but I never changed my course of action or my plan, or my security here. I knew I would have to go out and perform, whether they drafted somebody or not, and that’s the case this year. That’s the case every year. You have to go out and perform or you won’t be around. I’m excited to have the opportunity to go out and do it.”
(There’s been a lot of talk about the culture. Head Coach Adam Gase has talked a lot about bringing in guys who fit the kind of culture he wants in the locker room. How do you compare what it was to what it is today?) – “I don’t think we had a bad culture. I think the guys that we brought in have already bought in and now we’re fully aligned and we can just drive forward. I think that’s a big factor in the performance of teams is everyone being on the same page and not having any subtractions. We always want to be adding to each other and providing opportunities, providing energy to each other and feeding off each other. I’m excited about the guys we have and the opportunities that we have in front of us.”
(Going back to the question about statements that were made throughout the offseason that you were going to be the starter … How gratifying was that to keep hearing that?) – “It’s great. Obviously I don’t follow what all is said, but I know (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) told me that, and once he told me that, I was good. Yes, it’s satisfying. Coming off the injury, you don’t know what the team’s plan is going to be moving forward. It was definitely a vote of confidence in me and gave me some juice in the offseason to keep grinding and get ready to go again.”
(You haven’t been hit in a long time now. Are you a little curious as to how you’re going to react to that? Do you know what it’s going to be like? Are you eager to get back to that point? How would you describe that?) – “Well I’m never eager to get hit. (laughter) That would be sadistic. (laughter) I don’t look forward to being hit but I don’t think about it any different than I would any other season going into a new season. It’s part of the game. It’s part of the competitiveness – I don’t know the word for it, the anger? – It’s part of the game. It’s why it’s the game I love. Guys get to square up and line up against each other and play one-on-one. It’s a physical game and I love that. Yes, I don’t think about it any differently than I would any other offseason. Who looks forward to getting hit? Honestly, sometimes getting hit settles you in the game. If you get hit, you’re kind of like, ‘Boom. Alright. Let’s go play.’ Yes, you don’t want to have to have that every game; but sometimes it’s a good thing.”
(Is that a new tattoo on your right arm?) – “Yes. I got it last year.”
(What is it, if you don’t mind me asking?) – “It’s laurel leaves for my wife. My wife’s name is Lauren. Lauren means ‘by the laurel leaves,’ so that’s it.”
