The Miami Dolphins announced Monday that they had signed quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a contract extension, making him the first of the big three from the 2012 NFL Draft's first-round to sign a new deal with his team.
Colts QB Andrew Luck is said to be negotiating a new contract of his own and Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is entering a make-or-break season in Washington, but the Dolphins are now set to roll with Tannehill for the foreseeable future.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Tannehill's new deal is for six-years, is worth up to $96 million and carries $45 million in guarantees, which is similar to the deal handed to Andy Dalton by the Cincinnati Bengals, except for the fact that it carries almost twice the amount of guaranteed dollars.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported shortly thereafter that Tannehill actually received just $21.5 million fully guaranteed at the time of signing and that another $3.5 million becomes fully guaranteed in March 2016, another $3.5 million becomes guaranteed in 2017 and the remainder, $16.5 milliion, becomes guaranteed in 2018, ostensibly turning a six-year, $96 million contract into a four-year, $77 million deal.
HNGN passed along a report earlier on Monday that the Dolphins believe they have gained significant ground on the New England Patriots in the AFC East this offseason, in part because of the additions they made around Tannehill, but also thanks largely to the improvements their young franchise quarterback made under offensive coordinator Bill Lazor last season.
In 2014, Tannehill set career-highs in completions (392), completion percentage (66.4), yards (4,045), touchdowns (27) and quarterback rating (92.8) while committing the fewest turnovers of his NFL career.
If he can improve further next year - and there's every reason to believe he very well may considering the additions of Greg Jennings, DeVante Parker and Jay Ajayi and the continued development of Jarvis Jones and Lamar Miller - the Dolphins really could be ready to contend for the AFC East crown and a postseason berth.
This article has been updated.
