Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson is once again throwing his support behind embattled quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who is on the hot seat with fans after a terrible performance in the divisional-round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Many fans want to see Tannehill gone yesterday and have dreams of trading for Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, but according to a recent report from ESPN’s Turron Davenport, the Titans don’t consider the future Hall of Famer an option.
Even if they did want to bring Rodgers in, the Titans would have to find a way to move Tannehill’s contract, something that doesn’t seem feasible with his massive salary and dead-cap hit in 2022.
For fans who want to see the Titans move on from Tannehill immediately, don’t get your hopes up, especially after Robinson recently doubled-down on his support for Tannehill, according to Ben Arthur of The Tennessean.
“Ryan’s a pro,” Robinson said. “He knows how much he means to us. Traded for that guy. Gave him an opportunity to start. New contract. I think it’s pretty apparent where he stands with us. He’s our quarterback. I don’t know how many more times I gotta say it.”
As far as Tannehill’s plethora of turnovers during the 2021 season go, the Titans general manager rightly noted that interceptions aren’t always the quarterback’s fault, yet they get the blame anyway.
“Nobody probably feels worse than Ryan,” Robinson said of Tannehill’s turnover-plagued 2021 season. “Not to speak for Ryan about the amount of interceptions that went down this year and probably not all of them are on him. .. Sometimes, a DB makes a great play. Sometimes, a receiver may be off his spot. He may get pressured and the ball gets tipped. There’s a lot that goes into those plays. But ultimately, the quarterback is the one who bears the blame for it.”
Another Titan taking plenty of heat is offensive coordinator Todd Downing, who did not perform well in his first season in the position, leading to fans calling for his head. Robinson also threw his support behind Downing and the offensive staff.
“There’s zero patience in today’s society,” Robinson said. “(People) don’t understand everything that goes into game planning and what’s built into plays. … There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. But when it doesn’t go the way somebody wants it, the knee-jerk reaction is ‘we have to fire this (person). We have to do this.’
“They (the offensive staff) are good people, got great families,” Robinson continued. “They’re smart football men, everybody on that offensive side of the football. I’m proud to work with them.”
While it appears Downing will get another season to fix things, the Titans aren’t exactly standing pat on that side of the ball.
A few days ago, it was reported that the Titans were in the process of adding former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly to their staff. He’s expected to have some kind of advisory role, and hopefully he can help Tennessee revive an offense that regressed mightily in 2021.
When it comes to the quarterback position, the Titans might not be able to get rid of Tannehill just yet, but they can make some moves that will give them an immediate insurance policy and set things up for the future.
Tennessee should explore upgrading their backup quarterback spot just in case Tannehill continues to go south. Trading for a guy like Gardner Minshew or signing Mitch Trubisky are two solid options.
The Titans can also start planning for the future by selecting a quarterback in the 2022 NFL draft in the hopes that the young signal-caller can take the reins from Tannehill in a year or two.
Whether it’s signing or trading for a better backup or drafting a quarterback, or both, the Titans need to make at least one move at the position during the 2022 offseason.
