The Miami Dolphins have likely had internal and external discussion with starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill about his contract extension. They also had better had internal discussions on what they plan to back him up with. At some point the Dolphins need to sign a quarterback in addition to their other needs.

Current, as in for the next few days, back-up Matt Moore is set to hit free agency and earlier today Proofootballtalk.com speculated that Moore could end up with the New York Jets. That is a good possibility given his relationship with Todd Bowles.

In 2011 Bowles replaced Tony Sparano as the teams head coach. The Dolphins watched Matt Moore take over the season as Chad Henne was injured. Moore would win team MVP that year but lose his job a year later when Tannehill become the starter after being drafted 8th overall.

Moore has starting experience in both Miami and Carolina and would likely be a more manageable quarterback than Geno Smith. Bowles won’t be looking for a long term quarterback solution but instead a bridge to evaluate Smith or draft another quarterback for the future.

For the Dolphins Moore’s likely departure leaves the team very thin with only McLoud Bethel-Thompson on the roster as a quarterback and he is part of the reserve/futures roster.

Miami is going to need to sign and/or draft a quarterback to serve as back-up to Tannehill. Tannehill has taken a large number of hits the last two seasons and believing that he can continue to survive that kind of pressure without injury would be a poor decision. The team did the same thing last year with Branden Albert and it was disastrous.

After all is said and done Matt Moore could return to the Dolphins but his focus for the immediate future will be to find a starting job. Moore’s options for his career as a starter are growing smaller each year and 2015 may be the last real chance for him to find a team that will use him in that capacity.

While fans and media concentrate on Ndamukong Suh and other potential free agent prospects, quarterback at some point will become a position that must be addressed.