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Good news, Dolphins fans. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s knee is healed.

Bad news (maybe), Dolphins fans. Tannehill’s knee is as healed as it will ever be, absent reconstructive surgery.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald explains that Tannehill, who suffered a second-degree MCL sprain and a slightly-torn ACL after taking a low hit from Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell in December, has “passed a battery of tests” regarding the stability and functionality of the knee and “is now ready to go.” Still, the ACL is partially torn, and ACL’s don’t heal on their own.

Here’s the key point, which Salguero made earlier this week during a visit to PFT Live: “Tannehill will not be any more susceptible to a future ACL tear in his left knee following his completed rehabilitation than if he’d had a reconstructive surgery.” Putting it another way, Tannehill is as susceptible to a full ACL tear as he would be if he had a full reconstruction.

So the chance remains that a full tear will happen, and that he’ll need a full reconstruction. Given the risks associated with full reconstruction, the Dolphins have decided that there’s no reason to do it unless and until the ACL completely goes.

Salguero also reports that Tannehill will wear a brace on his left knee in 2017, as a preventive measure. The end result is that Tannehill will be ready to go for the entire offseason program; if he had surgery on the knee, he surely would have been out of commission until training camp at the earliest.