Entering the 2022 season, no player on the Tennessee Titans roster will be under the microscope more than quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
After being acquired in a trade that saw an exchange of picks in March 2019, the former Miami Dolphin eventually replaced Marcus Mariota that season, leading the Titans to the AFC Championship Game.
Tannehill also earned Pro Bowl honors, replacing Super Bowl-bound Patrick Mahomes, and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Since then, though, Tannehill hasn’t been able to get the Titans over the hump.
According to Bleacher Reports’ Kristopher Knox, Tannehill is among seven NFL quarterbacks on the hot seat in 2022.
Ryan Tannehill is an outlier on this list because he’s an older quarterback—he’ll turn 34 in July—and because he came in to replace another quarterback on the hot seat. Tannehill was drafted eighth overall by the Miami Dolphins in 2012. He didn’t work out in Miami but has been mostly good for the Tennessee Titans.
Tannehill was brought in to back up 2015 second overall pick Marcus Mariota in 2019. He was a Pro Bowler that season, and Tennessee moved forward with Tannehill as its starter instead of Mariota. It also signed Tannehill to a lucrative four-year, $118 million contract.
Tennessee’s roster saw a ridiculous number of injuries last season, including to Tannehill’s top-two wide receiver targets in A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, and superstar running back, Derrick Henry.
The offensive line also did him no favors, as defenses took Tannehill down 47 times, nearly double his 2020 total.
This offseason, the Titans’ primary focus has been to put Tannehill in the best possible position for success. Tennessee said goodbye to Jones and replaced him with Robert Woods while also adding tight end Austin Hooper. And the team is expected to add another target for Tannehill in the 2022 NFL draft.
Henry being healthy for a full season should also do wonders for Tannehill in 2022, but the offensive line remains a big question mark with Tennessee not doing much there thus far.
That said, Tannehill can’t continue to turn the ball over with costly mistakes, as seen in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs when he threw three interceptions in the Titans’ shocking loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
If Tannehill continues to struggle and the Titans take a signal-caller in this month’s draft, it could quickly accelerate the end of his tenure in Nashville.
