Maybe Jarvis Landry Is Right: Ryan Tannehill Is the Dolphins’ Problem

Jarvis Landry has had a lot to say about the Miami Dolphins since he signed this offseason with the Cleveland Browns for an eye-popping $75.5 million over five years, and none of it has been good. The former Pro Bowl receiver is obviously unhappy the Fins decided he wasn’t worth nearly what the market ended up netting him, and he’s making sure he leaves massive fireballs of exploding cars and demolished buildings in his wake.

It might seem as if all of this extra-spicy talk coming from Landry on his way out the door is petty, but it isn’t. As much as Dolphins fans may not want to hear this, it’s tough to argue.

Maybe he isn’t wrong about everything he’s said about Ryan Tannehill since Landry left in free agency this past offseason. Maybe his new quarterbacks in Cleveland are better than his one in Miami.

Last week Jarvis Landry said the #Browns QB play is “a lot better than what I had in Miami.” Just now, he told @AndrewSiciliano and me, no, he hasn’t heard from his old QB, Ryan Tannehill: “We didn’t really have a good relationship anyway, so I’m not surprised.” @nflnetwork #UTM

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) June 13, 2018

The stats are certainly on Landry’s side if you compare only quarterback ratings: Tyrod Taylor has a better career QBR than Tannehill (91.2 versus 86.5). Comparing touchdowns, interceptions, and passing yards is a bit tougher because Tannehill has nearly twice as many starts as Taylor. Generally speaking, Taylor and Tannehill fall in the third tier of NFL quarterbacks: Either one can get hot and take a team to the playoffs, but neither will be the reason a team makes a Super Bowl.

As far as who’s the better teammate, it could be that Landry isn’t just being mean when he says he and Tannehill didn’t have the greatest relationship. From the looks of social media, where Landry has made a habit over the past couple of months of posting about his new teammates’ offseason grind, he certainly has a basis of comparison. Landry isn’t the first ex-teammate of Tannehill’s to call the Fins’ QB out after leaving. Everyone from Mike Pouncey to Brent Grimes’ wife, Miko Grimes, has thrown shade Tannehill’s way.

This from March 21st, there's a theme here https://t.co/IkZq262yjo

— Eric Lauzin (@Lauzin) June 13, 2018

So maybe it’s the Dolphins. Maybe it’s Ryan Tannehill. Maybe it’s time to stop labeling every player who leaves Miami and says something bad about the team as a locker-room cancer or a bad apple. Maybe all the losing the Dolphins have done over the course of Tannehill’s career has less to do with the hundreds of teammates, the handful of offensive coordinators, and the three head coaches he’s been through.

Maybe it has more to do with Tannehill. Maybe if you’re the common denominator in every failed relationship, it’s time to stop ignoring the math and look in the mirror.

You might not be a fan of Jarvis Landry’s taking shots at his ex-teammate, but he’s not necessarily wrong. Even if you want him to be.