Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
Once the Tennessee Titans drafted quarterback Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the writing was on the wall that veteran signal-caller Ryan Tannehill wasn’t long for Nashville.
Tannehill got injured during his final year in Tennessee, which opened the door for Levis to start. The Kentucky product showed plenty of flashes over nine games, which sealed Tannehill’s fate.
It was assumed that Tannehill would find a job rather quickly. Granted, his last few years in Tennessee didn’t go well, but he’s still a high-quality backup, at worst, in the NFL.
Back in July, Tannehill was a guest on the “Scoop City” podcast and explained that he isn’t totally against playing in 2024, but it would have to be the right situation.
“Right now, I think it’s going to depend on situation,” Tannehill said. “At this point, I’ve been blessed to play 12 years and be where I’m at, so I’m not just going to continue to add years to add years. I want to be in a situation that I feel really good about. I’m not ruling anything out, but it’s going to have to be the right situation for me and my family.”
“Nothing really felt right through free agency,” Tannehill added. “And through that, I had a lot of peace with it, that nothing outstanding jumped up and I just said, hey, I’ll take a step back and if something comes up down the road, whether that’s training camp — maybe a guy goes down on a team and gives me a call, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Tannehill is looking for a playoff contender in need of a quarterback. And, that team has to have a strong offensive line and group of weapons, and the money would obviously be a factor, also. Rapoport adds that Tannehill has stayed in shape and is “throwing to local receivers.”
Tannehill’s name has come up recently after the Green Bay Packers lost quarterback Jordan Love to a multi-week injury. Green Bay has another former Titans quarterback as their backup in Malik Willis, but after two lackluster years to start his career, he’s isn’t guaranteed to keep the Packers afloat.
Tannehill revived his career in Tennessee after flaming out in Miami. However, things went off the rails over his final two seasons, as he dealt with injury and wasn’t very effective when on the field.
While Tannehill certainly could have played better, the Titans did him no favors with terrible offensive lines and a receiving corps. that lacked talent. If given a better situation, Tannehill could still play at a high enough level to win games.
Author(s)
After cutting his teeth with Bleacher Report, Mike Moraitis has covered the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans for FanSided, and the Titans and New York Giants for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. On top of his duties with Sporting News, Mike is the managing editor and lead writer for Titans Wire.