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Tannehill Stays Patient, Expects Next Two Weeks to be 'Exciting'

Facing free agency, Titans quarterback is in a better position than he was this time a year ago

David Boclair

Ryan Tannehill has been in a worse spot. Last year, to be exact.

The Tennessee Titans quarterback is scheduled to become a free agent in two weeks and the team has not – publicly, at least – shown any urgency to get him under contract and prevent him from negotiating with other teams. In fact, reports this week have indicated that Titans officials expect to let him explore his options on the free market.

A player who led the NFL in passer rating and yards-per-attempt and was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2019 will have options, unlike 12 months ago when he had no say in where he ended up.

“I learned a lot last year,” Tannehill said this week in an appearance on NFL Radio (SiriusXM). “Being in the situation I was last year, where I was still under contract. I knew I wasn’t going back to Miami, but I was still under contract. I couldn’t really do anything.

“Free agency had opened. I wasn’t able to talk to any other teams or anything like that. They basically said, ‘Hey, we’re going to try to trade you’ and my hands were tied. So, I just kind of had to sit there.”

The Dolphins eventually did trade him. Tennessee acquired him on March 15, 2019 with the idea that he would spend the final year of his contract as Marcus Mariota’s backup. Instead, he replaced Mariota as the Titans’ starter in Week 7 and won seven of 10 regular season starts, which led to the team’s second playoff berth in three seasons.

It is difficult to imagine things could have worked out any better. He set a slew of personal statistical bests, played in the postseason for the first time (he was a part of two playoff victories) and got to play in the Pro Bowl for the first time, albeit as a replacement for Kanas City’s Patrick Mahomes who was preoccupied with Super Bowl preparations.

“I learned a lot through that – to be able to be patient wait for what’s going to happen, don’t try to anticipate or worry about what you can’t control,” Tannehill said. “So, at this point I think it’s just a matter of playing the waiting game and seeing what happens here in the next couple of weeks.”

Teams can begin to negotiate with free agents on March 16. The signing period starts on March 18.

Several Titans veterans, including running back Derrick Henry and linebacker Rashaan Evans, have publicly stated their desire for the team to bring back Tannehill, even amidst reports that Tennessee will have a chance to sign Tom Brady.

Franchise officials, chiefly general manager Jon Robinson and coach Mike Vrabel, were non-committal when asked about Tannehill at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“I like what we started there last year, the guys that were on the team and I’d like to be back,” Tannehill said. “We’ll see what happens. Obviously, getting down to the last couple weeks here … and a lot of conversations got to go on back and forth for us to kind of figure out where we’re at. But we’ll see.

“It’s going to be an exciting couple of weeks, no matter what happens.”

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David Boclair
DAVID BOCLAIR

David Boclair has covered the Tennessee Titans for multiple news outlets since 1998. He is award-winning journalist who has covered a wide range of topics in Middle Tennessee as well as Dallas-Fort Worth, where he worked for three different newspapers from 1987-96. As a student journalist at Southern Methodist University he covered the NCAA's decision to impose the so-called death penalty on the school's football program.

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