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Finally we know what's going on with Ryan Tannehill's mysterious shoulder injury

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s shoulder injury was so strange, the NFL looked into whether the Miami Dolphins had violated any injury report rules.

Tannehill played against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, practiced the following week, then on Sunday morning before the Dolphins played the Chicago Bears there were reports that Tannehill wouldn’t play. Tannehill didn’t play, and in Week 9 he still hasn’t returned. There’s no guarantee he’ll be back in Week 10 either.

If you’ve watched the NFL for any amount of time, you know that’s not typical. Players don’t practice in full for a week, then come down with a multi-week injury out of the blue. It seemed like the only explanation was the Dolphins were holding back something.

Finally we got a report about what happened to Tannehill, and everything makes a lot more sense.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) has missed multiple weeks with a shoulder injury. (AP)
Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) has missed multiple weeks with a shoulder injury. (AP)

Ryan Tannehill reportedly has shoulder capsule injury

Adam Beasley and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reported Friday that Tannehill suffered a capsule injury in his throwing shoulder Week 5. As the Herald noted, a capsule is “a tough sheath or membrane that encloses something in the body.”

When a player suffers a shoulder capsule injury it can cause pain or instability. The Herald said that shoulder capsule injuries can cause pain hours after activity. The mystery seems solved: Tannehill practiced, likely through some pain (not unusual for football players in the middle of a season) but the problem was that he still felt pain hours after.

Assuming this is all accurate, that probably closes the case on the injury report issue. It doesn’t give the Dolphins their quarterback back, however.

Brock Osweiler will continue to start

Tannehill won’t need surgery, just rest according to the Herald. He has resumed throwing but hasn’t been seen at practice by media members during the open portion of practice.

There doesn’t seem to be any firm idea on when Tannehill will return. Brock Osweiler will continue to start for the Dolphins as he heals, including this Sunday against the New York Jets.

At least now we know what’s wrong with Tannehill.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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