See Where the Titans Land in SI's Ranking of Current NFL QB Situations

Ryan Tannehill's pricey new contract and the absence of an experienced backup put Tennessee in the bottom half

If it was just about the starter, things would be different.

Sports Illustrated staff writer Conor Orr, however, looked at the current quarterback situation for each of the NFL’s 32 teams and then ranked them. As he noted, “Your quarterback situation doesn’t just end with the player listed as QB1 on the depth chart. There are backups to take into account as well as cost (and future cost), coaching staff and surrounding talent.”

The Titans are one of five NFL teams that currently have just two quarterbacks under contract. One of them, backup Logan Woodside, never has appeared in a regular season contest.

The starter, Ryan Tannehill, is coming off the best season of his career, and there is skepticism about whether he can repeat that level of performance. Plus, Tannehill got a four-year, $118 million contract extension – the biggest contract given to a quarterback this offseason.

With all of that in mind, Orr ranks the Titans’ current quarterback situation at … No. 20.

Two teams with former Titans backups among their quarterback group rate better than that. Tampa Bay, where Blaine Gabbert will back up the recently signed Tom Brady, is No. 9. The Las Vegas Raiders, whose four include Marcus Mariota, are at No. 12.

Of the other teams with just two quarterbacks, New Orleans checks in highest on the list, at No. 7 with future Hall of Famer Drew Brees and backup Taysom Hill, one of the most versatile and useful players in the league.

The L.A. Rams are in a similar situation to Tennessee. Their backup, John Wolford, has yet to play in a regular season game. He was a four-year starter at Wake Forest but entered the league as an undrafted free agent (Woodside was a seventh-round pick by Cincinnati in 2018). but at No. 15. Their starter, Jared Goff, is a two-time Pro Bowler and took his team to the Super Bowl two years ago.

The Rams are No. 15 on the list.

The others with just two quarterbacks are the L.A. Chargers (No. 25), New England (No. 28) and Jacksonville (No. 32).