Ryan Tannehill – November 7, 2018
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
QB Ryan Tannehill
(Is it frustrating? Do you feel the pain of not being able to do things or not being able to throw for a few days? Mentally, how challenging is this?) – “It’s hard. It’s extremely hard. Whenever you’re not able to play, it’s extremely hard. Just not being able to go through practice, to not be able to be out there with the guys during the game and compete, it’s extremely hard. Unfortunately, part of this business, part of this game is sometimes you’re going to have to deal with injuries and you have to find a way to fight through, stay mentally sharp (and) put yourself in those situations. That way, when you are able to get back on the field, then you’re ready to go and you’re sharp and you didn’t mentally take a break as well.”
(Along those same lines, it seems like your career has had two chapters, one where you’re completely durable, you never miss anything and now missing 25 of the last 30 games. That’s just got to be frustrating after the first part of your career was spotless.) – “Yeah, it’s kind of crazy. I’ve never dealt with anything like this as far as during the season. The ACL was the ACL. It was pretty clear I wasn’t going to able to either finish that year or play obviously when it happened again. But as far as during the season, I’ve never really had anything that I wasn’t able to fight through that I felt that I could fight through. That part was extremely difficult, just not being able to fight through the injury and do what I want to do. It’s been tough.”
(Do you think playing against the Colts after the bye week is a reasonable possibility?) – “That’s the goal. That’s the goal right now for me is to get back on the field, use these next two weeks to get healthy, get back into throwing, get sharp and be ready to go. Obviously, it’s not set in stone. We’ll have to see what happens, but that’s my goal. I’m all in on doing everything I can to be ready for Indy.”
(What’s the biggest issue, is it the velocity on the throws or is the pain in the arm after the throws?) – “Yeah, it’s just being able to make the throw. That’s the issue. If it was just pain, then I could deal with that. I could go out and do it, but just being able to do the job is the issue.”
(Head Coach Adam Gase says you’re not going to throw for a few days. That sounds like a setback. Is it?) – “No, I wouldn’t say it’s a setback. I think over the course of this process, when I first stepped out, we took a rest period of 10 days and tried to get back into throwing and it just wasn’t there. We backed off again, now we’re resting again, trying to just get it to heal up because every time the arm goes through that motion, it stresses that capsule. That’s the goal right now is just to let that thing tighten back down, heal up and then get back into throwing during the bye.”
(When Head Coach Adam Gase talks about your injury, it sounds like it’s been very difficult to really pin down, that you guys were surprised at the beginning it turned out the way it did, that it’s hard to predict one day to the next how you’re going to feel and that it’s hard to even quantify or really say for certain that there’s been progress over the past month. Has it been difficult for you as well? Have you felt like this is kind of a mysterious injury?) – “Yeah, it’s been kind of a weird deal. Initially, I went through that week of practice early on and I thought it was going to be one of those things that I could just fight through and it just fell off a cliff as the week went on. So we rested it on Saturday, missed some practice on Friday, was able to get rested and then went and worked out Sunday morning and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to start at that point. It was a weird situation where you think you’re going to be able to fight through it and it’s going to get better as the week went on and it just drastically went the other way. That was tough. (Then I) rested it, went to throw again like I said earlier, and it just wasn’t close. So I shut it back down and we’ll see next week where we’re at.”
(Is it any better than it was a month ago, or do you not know?) – “It’s got to be. I mean, yeah. It was a little better when I went to throw again. It just wasn’t close to where it needs to be to do the job and make the throws I need to make.”
(So is it an issue with pain, or is it just your strength is a factor?) – “Yeah, obviously it hurts; but like I said, the pain I can deal with. It’s not just pushing through pain. It’s physically being able to get the ball to where it needs to go. Once I can do that, then we’ll be in good shape.”
(Actually, I didn’t know it hurt. So every time you throw a football it hurts?) – “Oh yeah.”
(Do you exacerbate it every time you throw? Is it made worse? Is that one reason you’re resting now because it could get worse because you’ve been throwing?) – “Yeah, that’s something that could be a possibility; but it’s not something where we know it’s going to get worse or anything like that. I think a more likely situation to make it worse would have to be a similar situation to what happened with the arm getting grabbed while making the throw. I don’t think it’s something where every throw it’s getting worse or anything like that.”
(Have doctors or trainers said that there is a possibility that you could not play again this year?) – “No.”
(How confident are you that you’ll play again this season?) – “I’m very confident. I’m all in on getting back for Indy. Obviously that’s still up in the air, but I’m confident that the shoulder is getting better and will be ready to go.”
(Is that something that you can get 100 percent with, or are you probably going to have to play through some pain when you’re ready to go?) – “Yeah, I think it’s going to be playing through pain the rest of the year. Like I said, once I can make the throws and get the ball where it needs to go, then we can deal with the pain. But just being able to physically make those throws is what we’re trying to get to.”
(Is that something you might need to get fixed in the offseason?) – “I’ve talked to multiple doctors and no one says surgery. Unfortunately, it’s a time thing and I don’t have much time in the season. That’s why this thing has kind of drug out over the past four, five weeks. Hopefully, we’re where we need to be and we can get ready to go for Indy.”
(What are the things you’re doing to rehab it? Are there certain workouts or exercises you do?) – “Oh yeah, I mean I’m (working) hours a day just trying to get my (rotator) cuff strong. As far as the actual capsule, there’s not a whole lot you can do. That just has to have time and heal up. But you can strengthen all the rotator cuff muscles around the shoulder and make sure everything is moving properly to lessen that stress on the capsule. That’s what we’re focusing on right now is just making the muscles really strong around the capsule and making sure everything is moving properly.”
(When you’re throwing, how much are you throwing?) – “Well, I’m not throwing right now. It’s a progression, right? So when you take a break from throwing, you want to start small and build it back up. You start at 10 yards and 40 throws and then it kind of builds from there. We’ll start that progression back over whenever I start throwing next week. You start small, then you just keep building and get that stamina, get that arm strength back up to where it needs to be.”
(Is it affecting you in everyday life? Is it painful for you like when you go to reach something off a shelf or you pick up your kids or something like that?) – “Yeah, it’s uncomfortable in overhead situations. But walking around, that’s kind of the screwy part. If I played another position, then I’d be able to play. You’d be able to do it. It’s the motion of throwing stresses the part that I injured. Unfortunately, I need it to be strong and be able to withstand that force going through the motion to do my job.”
(Have you ever had anything like this at any time? In college, high school or anything?) – “No. I never knew what a capsule until this happened. Yeah, it’s kind of a screwy situation.”
(How tough was it for you to go to Head Coach Adam Gase or whoever for the first time and say, I think we’ve got a problem here because you’ve been healthy…) – “Yeah, it was extremely tough. Like I said, during that week I just tried to fight through and thought I was going to be getting better throughout the week. I went from practice Wednesday to Thursday and felt a whole different from Wednesday to Thursday, then kind of stuck with it and came out Friday and knew immediately the first couple of throws that it wasn’t a good situation. So, yeah, it was really hard to go over to Adam and tell him, ‘Hey, something is going on here. We’re going to have to get this looked at.’”
(Because of the place that’s injured and your position, is there any possibility that if you could back before you’re 100 percent that you could cause more damage that would affect you for a longer period of time?) – “That’s one thing I talked to the doctors about. You don’t want to get in a situation where you call it ‘yo-yo,’ where you go back and forth of you can throw, then you can’t throw, you can throw, then you can’t throw. That’s one thing why we’re trying to rest it and get it as strong as it can possibly be where when I come back, then I’m back and I don’t have to deal with that.”
(You plan to play again. I don’t know that you’re going to be 100 percent. I don’t know that you know that you’re going to be 100 percent when you play. Is there a greater possibility of injuring your throwing shoulder if you’re not 100 percent?) – “Not to my knowledge, no. I’ve asked that question to the doctors and they seem confident that if I’m able to make the throws, then it’s not going to further injure or make a long-term situation happen.”
