Report: Miami Dolphins working on contract extension for Ryan Tannehill

According to Andrew Abramson of The Palm Beach Post, the Miami Dolphins are working on a contract extension for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill, who is entering his fourth year in the NFL, has thrown for 11,252 yards, 63 touchdowns and 42 interceptions over the past three seasons. He has accumulated a quarterback rating of 84.0 and hasn't missed a start.

General Manager Dennis Hickey, who spoke to reporters at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday, said that the team is looking into the future with Tannehill because of all the cap ramifications that come with giving a franchise quarterback a long-term deal. Nonetheless, he said that Tannehill is definitely in the Dolphins' plan for the future.

“We’re excited about what Ryan has brought to the table for us as an organization, not only on the field but off the field, and the way the handles his business,” Hickey said.

Hickey did admit that there are all kinds of variables when talking about the extension and said a myriad of issues will come into play when the two sides sit down. However, the Dolphins can't wait too long. They will have until May 3 to give him a one-year extension, which would push his salary from $2.1 million in 2015 to approximately $15 million in 2016. 

On the flipside, the Dolphins could work out a long-term deal. However, that is not likely. This is because that Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson are expected to get monster deals at some point within the next few months and Tannehill's agent will want to make sure they are in the right market range. While it's not expected that Tannehill will get something close to what those two quarterbacks get, several league sources believe he could pull in around $16 million per year, which is what Andy Dalton received in Cincinnati.

This will be a situation worth monitoring over the next several months and throughout the 2015 season. It is clear that Tannehill is the future of the franchise and the Dolphins will need to be creative with his salary so they don't bog down their finances. In addition, the team will really need to start hitting on their draft picks so they can churn the roster every few years without paying monster salaries to a few players, thus limiting their ability to field a competitive team year after year.

This story was written by Matthew Cannata. Follow him on Twitter: @PhinManiacs