Is it time for Tennessee Titans to move on from Ryan Tannehill? Here’s how it’s complicated

Quarterback succession plans are rarely clean.

Just think of how messy Aaron Rodgers’ breakup was with the Green Bay Packers. Or the six quarterbacks the New Orleans Saints have started in less than three years without Drew Brees. Soon, it’ll be the Tennessee Titans’ turn.

One question clouded the Titans’ bye week, and will continue to do so heading into the Oct. 29 game against the Atlanta Falcons: Is now the time to move on from veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill?

Tannehill is dealing with a right ankle injury, one that coach Mike Vrabel describes as similar to the one that kept him out of two games in 2022. And the Titans have second-year passer Malik Willis and rookie Will Levis developing, each in need of in-game experience as the team looks to the immediate future that might not include Tannehill, who is in the final year of his contract.

The Titans have 11 games left after this open week. Tannehill gives them the best chance to recover from their 2-4 start and make a run to the playoffs. But Levis and Willis remain mostly unknown commodities, and getting them game reps would give the Titans a better idea of what their future could look like with either youngster behind center.

Three issues make the Titans’ present even more complicated. One, there are two young backups to choose between. Two, Tannehill’s injury prognosis isn’t black-and-white. And three, the timing of these events is set against the backdrop of a trade deadline that’s less than two weeks away.

Let’s examine all three factors.

Two young quarterbacks, one Titans job

Vrabel said after the Titans returned from their trip to London, where the team lost to the Baltimore Ravens, that Tannehill will be the starter if he’s available against the Falcons. If he can’t go, Vrabel isn’t committing to Willis or Levis just yet.

“I don’t know who that would be yet,” Vrabel said. “We’ll see how they continue to practice. It’d be good to get them some work this week, maybe with some guys that they haven’t necessarily worked with. They’ve been working on the show team during the season. I’m excited to get both those guys some reps with some of our offensive guys and see how they handle that.”

Willis relieved Tannehill for three starts last season and two drives after Tannehill was injured against the Ravens. Levis hasn’t been active yet this season, but general manager Ran Carthon, in his first draft at the helm, had traded up to acquire Levis.

The two have split time with the scout team. Vrabel said he thought Willis looked improved from 2022, and that he has seen Levis’ comfort level increase throughout the season. Levis is more of an unknown at this point, but because Tannehill wasn’t expected to practice during the open week, the Titans should have had extra time to evaluate both quarterbacks as potential starters instead of as backups who can help the team in a pinch.

Contract talk and trade deadlines

Leigh Steinberg understands the Titans’ situation from both sides. One of the most successful agents in NFL history, he represented Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young when he was waiting his turn behind Joe Montana, and Drew Bledsoe, when an injury forced him out of the starting lineup and the New England Patriots turned the reins to Tom Brady.

“Was it difficult on Drew? Absolutely,” Steinberg told The Tennessean. “The only team he had known was the Patriots. He had been successful. They were happy with him. He was happy living there back in New England. He’s married. So there are all sorts of considerations that go into it. It’s a difficult situation. A player goes through different stages of reaction to it. The first is denial. ‘This can’t be really happening.’ But part of the job of the agent is constantly looking forward into the future. So this really can’t be a surprise to Tannehill.”

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The 2023 NFL trade deadline is Oct. 31. The Titans theoretically could trade Tannehill if they want to move on to the future immediately. It would be just a matter of determining if the return value would be worth losing his locker room presence and finding a partner willing to strike a deal.

Teams in search of more consistent quarterback play are littered across the league. The New York Jets fit the bill most obviously, but so arguably do the Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and the Falcons, coached by Tannehill’s former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. And as Steinberg points out, there isn’t a team anywhere that wouldn’t take Tannehill as a backup.

Quarterback trades at the deadline are rare. Only two passers have been dealt at the deadline in the past seven years: Joe Flacco in 2021 and Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017. Flacco, who was just a year older in 2021 than Tannehill is now, commanded only a conditional sixth-round pick in return as an acquired backup.

“Teams don’t tend to be empathetic and generous in their trade policy,” Steinberg said.

Defining Ryan Tannehill’s injury

The term “high ankle sprain” is a bit of a misnomer. The word “high” doesn’t refer to severity. It’s about location. Like the knee, the ankle has a bundle of ligaments. High ankle sprains are related to the ligaments on the inside of the ankle, while run-of-the-mill rolled ankles are sprains to the outside ligaments.

The sheer number of ligaments in the ankle makes it tough to prescribe any timetable for return.

“Obviously medicine doesn’t (have a) cookbook where you can say ‘high ankle sprain: x, y, z,’ ” said Dr. Kenneth Jung, foot and ankle specialist for the Los Angeles Rams and at the Cedars Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute. “There are several ligaments involved. With each of the ligaments you can have different amounts of severity . . . So in the constellation of ligaments that are involved here, each one that you add to the equation adds some variability with regards to recovery.”

Tannehill injured the same ankle last year and had it surgically repaired. Jung said that surgically repaired ankles shouldn’t be more susceptible to future injury or make rehab more difficult. As long as the ligaments and joint in Tannehill’s ankle are stable — whether naturally because the sprain wasn’t severe, or because it was artificially stabilized by surgery or sutures — the ankle should heal with rest and rehab.

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So is the time now?

Steinberg wants to make one thing clear: He’s not in the business of telling teams or GMs what to do. But based on his nearly five decades around the NFL, he can spot a trend.

“In analysis, it looks like right now is the time most teams would make the transition,” he said. “They have a player that’s injured and might be injured for more time. Arguably this is the time to make the transition.”

There’s nothing more important in today’s NFL than having a franchise quarterback. Until Willis and/or Levis get more playing time, it’ll be tough for the Titans to know if they have one lurking on the roster. But given the Titans’ stance on playing for now versus preparing for tomorrow, the move still might be a little ways away.

“I think we’re always looking for this year,” Vrabel said.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nickusss.

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