DAVIE, Fla. -- Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill made the next step in his recovery on Friday. He took reps and threw on the scout-team offense in practice for the first time since suffering a sprained ACL and MCL in his left knee in Week 11 of the regular season.
Tannehill will not play in Sunday's wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers but hasn't ruled out returning if Miami advances in the divisional round to play the top-seeded New England Patriots.
“It’s exciting to be back out there. I put in a lot of work to try to get myself ready to go,” Tannehill said Friday. “Taking the first step and getting back out there is huge.
“We’re still working through [a timeline]. At this point, I’m just taking it day-by-day still and we’ll see what happens next week.”
Dolphins head coach Adam Gase said the team feels better about Tannehill practicing next week if it advances beyond Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. According to Gase, Tannehill would have to practice more for the team to feel comfortable enough to start him.
One of the major factors being weighed by the Dolphins is the potential for re-injuring Tannehill's knee. He doesn’t know at this point if any surgery would be required in the offseason.
"We’re being smart with it,” Tannehill said. “If there’s a huge risk of doing further damage, then clearly he’s not going to let me go back out there. That’s what we’re working through now.”
In other injury news, Dolphins starting cornerback Byron Maxwell will be listed as doubtful with an ankle injury and is expected to miss his third straight game. The team also released backup defensive end Jason Jones on Friday.
