News & Info/Headlines

Following up on a previous item. ... The Dolphins now fear quarterback Ryan Tannehill is going to need season-ending knee surgery, however no decision to have it has been made at this time, sources close to the situation tell ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington.

As second and third opinions await, Tannehill still could decide to rest it for six to eight weeks and try to come back from his knee injury again, the sources said. But the Dolphins are growing increasingly concerned that surgery will be the most viable and likely option as they and their starting quarterback sift through them.

"He's done, I think," one source predicted to Schefter and Darlington Thursday night, referring to Tannehill's hopes of returning this season.

But nothing is final and options still are on the table.

Per the report, Tannehill must decide whether he wants to wait at least six weeks to let it heal and take another shot at playing, or go ahead and have the surgery, which would end his season.

The Dolphins recognize they might have to step in and recommend the surgery that Tannehill has avoided since he initially injured the knee last December against Arizona.

One source told ESPN Thursday that, because Tannehill did not repair his partially torn ACL during the offseason, his knee was "a ticking time bomb that was going to go off at any time."

It happened Thursday, on a non-contact play, when Tannehill crumbled to the ground while scrambling.

Tannehill underwent an MRI and now the Dolphins know they will be without Tannehill for at least a significant amount of time, and quite possibly the season.

Meanwhile, Darlington reports that Jay Cutler would be willing to delay his broadcast career at Fox to play for Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, who helped him revitalize his career when he was the QB's offensive coordinator with the Bears in 2015. But Cutler plans to consider such a move only if he gets the chance to be the full-time starter (and get starter money) for the entire season. (Cutler views this as the only practical QB job he'd consider at this point, sources told Darlington.)

In addition, sources told ESPN's Josina Anderson that Colin Kaepernick's name also has been brought up within the Dolphins' front office as potential insurance at the position.

Matt Moore is currently next man up on the depth chart behind Tannehill.

Stay tuned. ... We will obviously continue to watch this one closely.