Although Tennessee Titans common supervisor Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel have remained bullish of their declaration that Ryan Tannehill would be the staff’s Week 1 starter, ESPN’s Invoice Barnwell isn’t 100% satisfied that’s true.
After drafting Kentucky’s Will Levis within the second spherical of the 2023 draft, Barnwell not too long ago urged that there’s a path the place Tannehill finds himself on one other staff earlier than subsequent season kicks off.
“Tannehill is owed a non-guaranteed $27 million within the last yr of his deal, a big quantity when it comes to each money and cap (the Titans can roll that area over into 2024 in the event that they reduce him),” Barnwell wrote. “If Levis is really the quarterback of the long run in Nashville, do the Titans actually need to pay $27 million for a lame-duck season from Tannehill? This might come right down to the wire. If Levis impresses in camp, or the Titans discover a determined staff coping with an harm to its starter, it isn’t out of the query that Tannehill might be on one other roster in Week 1.”
This isn’t the primary time Tannehill has been urged to be on the chopping block. It was reported shortly after the draft that the Titans nearly traded the Texas A&M alum to the Atlanta Falcons however the deal fell aside as a result of the 2 sides couldn’t make the cash work.
Carthon is on-record stating he had a dialogue with Tannehill in February and the 34-year-old QB is aware of precisely where he stands with the group.
Tannehill is within the last yr of his contract and has a $36.6 million cap hit — second-highest amongst quarterbacks in 2023, behind solely Patrick Mahomes. He has a 36-19 file (66 win proportion) because the Titans starter, however he turns 35 in July and his manufacturing has fallen off the final two seasons.
With out a fifth-year possibility, it is smart that the Titans would need Levis to begin as many video games as doable in 2023, particularly if the staff doesn’t consider will probably be competing for an AFC South title or a playoff spot. Buying and selling Tannehill not solely clears a substantial quantity of cap area, it additionally permits the staff to formally hit the reset button on its roster.
