It's Ryan Tannehill Or Bust For The Tennessee Titans In 2023

We've seen them in practice, and it's clear Ryan Tannehill gives the Tennessee Titans the best chance to win games in 2023.

Photo By: Greg Arias/AllTitans.com

NASHVILLE  - While the competition to become the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans will continue on paper until the beginning of the preseason, the race is over, and it's not even close. 

For those who still believe Ryan Tannehill will be cut- it's June 1, and he has not been designated- or traded away at some point before the season, you haven't been watching the three candidates practice during the current OTAs.   

While Malik Willis has improved, and Will Levis has all the tools to be a starter in this league, neither is ready to be the starter for this team now or in the near future. 

When it comes to the individual drills and the team portions of the OTAs we in the media have witnessed, Tannehill has full command of every aspect- as should be expected with his veteran status- while Willis seems to know what he is doing, there are times when he shows indecision and inaccuracy. 

As for Levis, while he has shown a big arm and his ability to thread the needle into tight windows, he still struggles when throwing with touch and in the nuances of playing the position at this level. He will get there, but right now, he's just not ready, and in the best interests of this team, and Levis's future, he needs time to sit, learn, grow, and work on his game to be ready when his time does arrive. 

That time isn't now and won't likely be at any point this season as long as Tannehill is healthy and this team isn't as awful as many predict.  

"Our number one objective as an offense is to master this offense. To take advantage of every rep we get," said Tannehill following Wednesday's OTA. "(There's) A lot of new stuff, a lot of new terminology, concepts, blocking schemes, the thing, so we're taking in a lot of information, learning from every rep."

"There's a lot of mistakes being made, but they're good mistakes because we're growing from them, we're learning from them across the board from receivers, tight ends, o-line, quarterbacks, running backs, everybody," continued Tannehill. "So, just taking advantage of this time and making sure we grow from our mistakes and soak up as much information as we can because this is the time we have to do it."        

I'll leave you with this for those who still doubt that Tannehill is the man for Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon this season. 

Why would the Titans continue to give Tannehill ninety percent of the first-team reps rather than providing those to one of the other quarterbacks to prepare them for the season and then trot him out to the podium post-practice to front the media if they knew they were going to move him before the season? 

I'll leave you to ponder those and make your own decisions, but if you can still say Tannehill will be traded with a straight face, I'll just have to let you watch it unfold. 

Titans Related Stories

• MEMORIAL DAY, HOPKINS, THE NUMBERS, AND THE LIKELIHOOD HE JOINS THE TITANS: A remembrance of the reason for Memorial Day along with thoughts on DeAndre Hopkins, how his Titans contract could work without moving on from a veteran player, along with thoughts on if he would consider signing with Tennessee. CLICK HERE
• TITANS OFFENSIVE LINE FORCING THEMSELVES TO COMMUNICATE ON AND OFF THE FIELD: Titans offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling spoke with the media about the rebuilding process he and the Titans line are doing to foster communication amongst the group during these OTAs. CLICK HERE 
• TITANS UNDRAFTED ROOKIE COPELAND FLASHES ABILITY ON THE FIELD: Jacob Copeland came to the Titans as an undrafted rookie free agent and had the reputation of being an outstanding athlete. Despite his undrafted status, that athleticism has begun to appear on the practice field. CLICK HERE