Ryan Tannehill's Bid to Start Miami Dolphins' Season Opener Already Fading

Maybe the Miami Dolphins signed Chad Ochocinco because they knew that Ryan Tannehill's "rookie trying to start at quarterback" storyline would be going nowhere by the time Hard Knocks started filming later this summer.

Despite his knowledge offensive coordinator Mike Sherman's scheme from their time together at Texas A&M, Tannehill took "very few" snaps with the starters, according to the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson. Jackson reports that David Garrard actually took the majority of the first-team reps and also looked like the best quarterback on the team for the second straight session that was open to the media.

Owner Stephen Ross never seemed on board with the idea of Tannehill starting from day one, and the idea of splitting first-team snaps three ways between quarterbacks seemed foolish at best, if not potentially disastrous for a team in flux at just about every position on the offensive side of the ball.

Jackson did say that Matt Moore and Garrard are getting close to the same number of snaps. There will be a quarterback battle in training camp; it just looks unlikely that Tannehill will be one of the competitors.

The Miami Dolphins do have a rookie who is likely to start the season opener vs. the Houston Texans. Second-round pick Jonathan Martin "got a lot of work" with the first team at right tackle, according to Jackson. His performance will be one to watch closely, as he hasn't played the position since high school.