Redskins trading for Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill wouldn’t make sense

The Washington Redskins will be looking to add quarterback talent to their roster for 2019 in the wake of Alex Smith’s injury. However, adding Ryan Tannehill via trade wouldn’t make sense.

Recently, the rumors regarding Alex Smith‘s status for the 2019 season were confirmed. Essentially, it seems that Smith will probably miss the whole season and the Redskins are preparing for life without him for next year. That means that the team will be in the quarterback market once again, and they will have a number of options to choose from in that regard.

The quarterback market is going to be extremely interesting this year, as there may be more supply than demand. With four quarterbacks potentially grading out as first rounders and many teams already having addressed the position last season in the elite 2018 quarterback class, few teams are in the market for a veteran passer. And those that are, like the Broncos and Redskins, already have high-cost options on their roster. So, that may make it difficult for them to acquire these veterans and finding a fit for all of them may be difficult.

One of the quarterbacks that is expected to become available in 2019 is Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins will have a new head coach, as the team is rumored to be hiring Patriots defensive assistant Brian Flores after the Super Bowl to run their team, and new regime often means the team will draft a new quarterback. Beyond that, Tannehill has been injury-prone and mediocre over the course of the past couple of seasons. So, a fresh start for Tannehill may be in the best interest of both parties.

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That said, trading for Tannehill won’t be an option for the Redskins. They already have too much invested in the quarterback position, as Alex Smith is still on the books for over $20 million. Tannehill’s contract is set to pay him nearly the same amount over each of the next two seasons while carrying a cap hit of $25 million plus as well. Simply put, devoting that much of the cap to an injured starter and an average (at best) fill-in wouldn’t be a smart move.

Now, it’s entirely possible that if no other team jumps at the chance to trade for Tannehill, the Redskins could explore adding him as a free agent. He would at least give the team some experience and could compete with Colt McCoy for the starting job. Whether or not Tannehill or McCoy would be the better starting option can be debated ad nauseam, but at least it would give the Redskins a chance to have two players with a boatload of starting experience on their roster.

The other benefit to adding Tannehill would be that the team wouldn’t necessarily have to address the quarterback position early in the 2019 NFL Draft class. The 2020 class looks a lot stronger than this one on paper, and the Redskins could load up on other positions of need and build for a potential high-2020 pick. While the team has shown a lot of interest in quarterbacks this offseason, patience might be the best option, as they could shore up their offensive line, add some quality receivers, and get some more defensive playmakers to create a better-rounded team.

The point here is that if the Redskins can somehow get a veteran on the cheap if the demand for quarterbacks outweighs the supply which is looking more and more likely, they may set themselves up for better long-term success. However, trading for Tannehill won’t be an option under any circumstance, as his contract is simply too expensive for the team to afford right now.