Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and was selected eighth overall by the Dolphins in the 2012 NFL draft.
In his first seven seasons, Tannehill served as the Dolphins' primary starter. He was traded to the Titans in 2019, becoming the starter midway through the season and leading the team to the AFC Championship Game. Tannehill was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year and received Pro Bowl honors. During his next two seasons, Tannehill helped the Titans clinch consecutive division titles. His final two years were marked by injuries, leading to his retirement after the 2023 season.
Tannehill was born in Lubbock, Texas, and grew up in nearby Big Spring. He attended Big Spring High School, where he played football and basketball, and ran on the track and field team. Tannehill played 10 games as a defensive back as a sophomore. As a junior, he passed for 2,510 yards and rushed for 922 at quarterback. Tannehill took his team to the playoffs as a senior, passing for 1,258 yards and rushing for another 617. He had to miss two games due to a separated shoulder in the second game of his senior year. Tannehill also recorded three receptions for 62 yards and compiled a 39.2 punt average with a long of 84 yards as a senior. He earned second-team District 4-4A honors for both his junior and senior seasons. Tannehill left high school a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com.
In track and field, Tannehill competed in hurdling and jumping events. At the 2006 District 4-4A championships, he placed third in the 300 m hurdles (41.24 s) and earned a second-place finish in the triple jump event (13.19 m).
Tannehill redshirted his first season at Texas A&M University after turning down offers from the University of Houston, TCU, Tulsa, and UTEP.
Before Tannehill's second season, Mike Sherman took over as head coach. In summer camp, Tannehill competed against veteran quarterback Stephen McGee and redshirt sophomore Jerrod Johnson for the starting quarterback position. He finished in third place behind starter Johnson and McGee. Sherman's offense utilizes three receivers and moved Tannehill to a wide receiver position.
In his fifth game, Tannehill posted a freshman school record of 210 yards on 12 catches. He recorded six receptions for 78 yards in the Iowa State game breaking the freshman school record for receptions and receiving yards. Tannehill finished his redshirt freshman season with 844 receiving yards, which was 11 yards shy of breaking Robert Ferguson's record set in 2000. Tannehill attempted only one pass as a quarterback the whole season.
Tannehill expressed his desire to become the starting quarterback at A&M: "I still think of myself as a quarterback; I still want to be a quarterback here at A&M. Hopefully that's the way it turns out. But if things don't happen that way, and Coach thinks I can better help being a receiver, then I guess I'm okay with that."
During the 2009 offseason, Tannehill and Jerrod Johnson competed for the starting quarterback position; Johnson won the job.
Tannehill finished the 2009 season with a team-leading 46 receptions for 609 yards and four touchdowns. About 80% of his catches for the season were for first downs or touchdowns. Tannehill picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors for his performance. Tannehill only took eight snaps as a quarterback for the entire season.
Tannehill continued to play wide receiver during the first six games of the 2010 season. Over those six games, he made 11 receptions for 143 yards. Tannehill attempted four passes during the season opener.
Tannehill saw extensive action at quarterback during the Kansas game, splitting time with starter Jerrod Johnson. Tannehill finished completing 12-of-16 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns. In his first career start at quarterback, Tannehill led the Aggies to a 45–27 victory over Texas Tech while setting a school record with 449 passing yards. He also made a 33-yard pooch punt, his first career kick.
Tannehill quarterbacked the Aggies to a victory over No. 11 Oklahoma, which moved the team into the top 25. He helped the team maintain a ranking in the top 25 with victories over Baylor and No. 9 Nebraska. During the Nebraska game, Tannehill punted twice since the starter was injured. He and his team defeated Texas finishing the regular season. Tannehill was recognized with All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
In 2011, Tannehill started all 13 games (including the bowl game) at quarterback for the Aggies and was the team captain. He threw for 3,744 yards and 29 touchdowns with 15 interceptions. Tannehill completed 61.6% of his passes posting a quarterback rating of 133.2 while also recording three rushing touchdowns. On Thanksgiving Day, Tannehill lost the final game of the regular season to Texas A&M's rival, the University of Texas, the last time the teams played, until the 2024–25 season.
Tannehill finished his career at Texas A&M as a quarterback with 5,450 passing yards, 42 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions.
The Miami Dolphins selected Tannehill eighth overall in the 2012 NFL draft. He was the first quarterback selected by the Dolphins in the first round since Dan Marino went 27th overall in 1983. Tannehill became the 17th starting quarterback by the Dolphins since Marino and only the third quarterback taken in the first round in franchise history after Hall of Famers Bob Griese and Marino. On July 28, 2012, Tannehill signed a four-year rookie contract with the Dolphins worth about $12.688 million, with a fifth-year option.
Tannehill was named the starting quarterback for the season opener against the Houston Texans. He finished the 30–10 road loss with 219 passing yards and three interceptions. Two of his three interceptions were tipped at the line of scrimmage by defensive end J. J. Watt. In response to Tannehill's performance, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said, "We've (also) got to do a better job in (pass) protection, and at times the receivers have to protect the throw from the quarterback. So I would say, as is usually the case, there is a little bit of culpability across the board".
During Week 2, Tannehill improved dramatically in a 35–13 victory over the Oakland Raiders. He threw for 200 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions while also rushing for 14 yards and a touchdown. Tannehill seemed to fix his tipped ball problem by having no passes batted down in that game. By the end of Week 3, Tannehill had completed less than 53% of his passes and also had only one touchdown to four interceptions. Two weeks later against the Arizona Cardinals, Tannehill threw for 431 yards, surpassing the Dolphins' single-game record for most passing yards by a rookie quarterback set by Dan Marino in 1983. Tannehill's mark was one yard shy of the NFL's single-game passing-yard record by a rookie quarterback, set by Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in 2011. Tannehill finished the 24–21 overtime road loss throwing for 431 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. During a Week 16 24–10 victory over the Buffalo Bills, he set a franchise record for longest run by a quarterback by rushing for 31 yards in a single play. The previous record was held by Pat White, who had a 30-yard run in 2009. Tannehill also became the fifth quarterback in team history to surpass 3,000 passing yards in a season.