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Cole: "Calm Down, Tunsil's Ankle Is More Of A Long-Term Issue"

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Bleacher Report NFL Insider Jason Cole joined Orlando Alzugaray on The Big O Show Thursday on Miami Sports Radio 560 WQAM to talk about his report saying that Dolphins rookie offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil has a "pre-arthritic" ankle issue.

"Calm down...calm down...Tunsil's ankle is more of a long-term issue. I don't think that anyone doubts that Tunsil can play this season, it's more of a thing to worry about 8-9-10 years down the line," Cole said in the interview with Big O.

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According to Cole's report on Bleacher Report, sources around the league said it was the "pre-arthritic" ankle issue that contributed to Tunsil's slide from No. 1.

Tunsil's freefall played out on national television as a video was released via social media on draft night showing the former Ole Miss All-American smoking marijuana. It was the trend of the night that drafting in the top half of the draft removed the 6-foot-5, 310-pound protector from their boards.

Miami wasted little time announcing its pick of Tunsil – taking the best player available.

Also in his report, Cole said that Tunsil's ankle issue has gotten mixed reviews from league sources.

"According to multiple sources that I talked to, Tunsil has a pre-arthritic condition in his ankle and that's one of the concerns that came up late in the draft process," Cole said in the video report. "In fact, talking to two of those sources; what they say about Tunsil's ankle is that it may be worse than Myles Jack's knee in the long run."

Jack, the former UCLA linebacker, saw his draft stock plummet when it is discovered that the knee injury he sustained during his final collegiate season had degenerative aspects and could require microfracture in the future. Once predicted as a top-10 pick, Jack fell into the second round before the Jacksonville Jaguars selected him 36th overall. Jack is said to be available to play this coming season, but the long-term outlook is unclear.

Tunsil, who fractured his fibula during his sophomore season on December 31st, 2014 during the Peach Bowl, returned for his junior campaign – but only played the final half of the season after serving an NCAA suspension.

"There's always disagreement about medical findings and what doctors believe will happen with certain injuries – especially when they are not traumatic. But one source said that [the ankle] is a concern but not a big concern – certainly not as big as Jack's knee."

"Out there is: he definitely has an ankle situation that he has to deal with, how bad it is, is up to interpretation," Cole said in his report.

Tunsil signed a four-year, $12.45 million contract May 6th, the first day of the Dolphins' rookie minicamp. Miami new head coach Adam Gase said that he plans on having Tunsil play offensive guard – a position he's never played competitively before – during his rookie season.

The team is scheduled to hold OTA's May 24-26, May 31-June 2, and June 6-9; with a mandatory minicamp June 14-16 to end their offseason program.

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