Despite a disappointing early exit from the playoffs, the Super Bowl window for the Tennessee Titans with this group is still open. But, there’s some work to do. Offensive coordinator Todd Downing and quarterback Ryan Tannehill are coming under the most fire this week for their respective performances, and how they combined to compound the issues that ultimately led to the Cincinnati Bengals bouncing the Titans. Mike Vrabel set a precedent for loyalty under duress with defensive coordinator Shane Bowen a year ago, and I expect him to do the same with Downing this year (whether we agree with that decision or not is another conversation altogether). The situation with Tannehill is complicated – cutting him isn’t a feasible option. At best, you can break even on his contract, but then you’re heading into the season without a quarterback and you’re not going to have the resources to go get someone who is a significant upgrade.
I think there could also be some overreacting going on this week as well. Shocker, I know. To say that winning a championship with Tannehill is impossible just isn’t true. I’d frame it like this – we now have a wider sample size of Tannehill’s work and what I’d say we’ve learned about Tannehill is that he’s not particularly creative enough to overcome poor play-calling and predictable play design. He can be unnecessarily aggressive in forcing a play, and he has a tendency to stare down his receivers on occasion. If you’re going to stick with the same play-caller, then it means that the conditions have to be absolutely perfect for a Super Bowl run – good run game, stout defense, controlling the game early, wearing down opponents. It’s possible, but it’s not ideal, and I don’t think that’s something you want to bank on for the future.
You’re playing good teams in the playoffs. It took literally one play to start the game to throw off the Titans. When the chips are down in the postseason, you need a guy that can manufacture a little magic the way Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes did on Sunday evening. I’m not sure that Tannehill can be that guy, and “that guy” looks like the missing ingredient for this Titans team.
That said, there’s no reason to think that this coaching staff doesn’t believe in Tannehill. Maybe they shock us all and do make a move for a quarterback, hoping to cash in on the prime of Derrick Henry and a defensive front that is among the elite in the NFL. Maybe there is a sense of urgency like “hey, we’ve got one more year of this. We better get it the fuck done.” But, doesn’t it seem like last year was that year with Bud Dupree and Julio Jones? Personally, I wouldn’t bank on any major changes like that coming.
A much more prudent option would be to try and infuse the quarterback position with some talent and competition (and hire a passing game coordinator/quarterback whisperer, but I’m just trying to stay down this one rabbit hole for now…). There’s a potential out with Tannehill in 2023, and his contract expires in 2024 anyway. So, while this regime definitely appears to be all in on the open window in the here and now, it wouldn’t hurt to go ahead and start thinking about the future.
What’s working to their advantage right now is just how deep and loaded this roster is. Sure, there will be personnel decisions to make – popular unsubstantiated cut candidates floating around social media include Taylor Lewan, Jackrabbit Jenkins, and Rodger Saffold. If any of those guys were to be cut, it would create an immediate need at a starting position. But, by and large, there’s quality depth across the board. The biggest need, to me, is tight end. The Titans need a true TE1, but this is the year to be looking for one. It’s a solid draft class, and there are going to be some big tight end names hitting free agency, too.
My point is that the Titans are in a position to take a flier on a high-ceiling prospect at quarterback without jeopardizing the depth chart elsewhere. People are about as low as you can be on a quarterback class this year, but there is some intriguing talent there. And, let’s be real here – there are misses in “surefire” draft classes, and hits in “poor” draft classes all the time. If they wanted Kenny Pickett, currently the consensus number one in the group, they’ll likely have to trade into the top 10 to get him. I can’t see that happening, but even if they hang tight at #26, promising options will be there.
I like Matt Corral a lot, but I think his success in the NFL is going to hinge upon a coaching staff that knows exactly what to do with him like Lane Kiffin did. Malik Willis is another popular name out there – dude has a cannon of an arm and elite level athleticism, but is raw. He may have the highest upside of any quarterback in the draft, but it could reasonably take some time to put it all together. Sam Howell seems like a guy this staff would like – he’s an accurate, competitive guy. The biggest knock on him from 2021 was the mistakes, and boy….we don’t want to go down that road right now. Carson Strong could be a dark horse in play in the late 20s – he’s got a lot of arm talent and underrated athleticism.
As Mike Herndon pointed out on Twitter, If you draft a talented quarterback that takes Tannehill’s job from him in 2022, great. You’re ahead of schedule then! But, if he doesn’t, you at least have a contingency plan in place to take over in 2023 or 2024 when life after Tannehill could potentially begin.
I’m heading to the Senior Bowl next week, and I’ll just say this. I’ll be paying a lot more attention to the quarterbacks than I thought I was going to a few weeks ago.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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