Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was unable to suit up in Week 8 because of an ankle injury, missing his first start with the team since he was named the starter in 2019.
Tannehill was able to return to practice on Wednesday in a limited fashion, which gives him a chance to suit up on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, if he does suit up, Tannehill might be playing through pain, and at the very least he’ll have to deal with that pain during the week of practices.
“Just getting back into it,” Tannehill said, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “Slowly, working into it with the ankle, and seeing where I’m at, day by day, just moving around and getting ready to go.
“Pain is going to be there, that’s just kind of where we’re at with it. Unfortunately, with the nature of the injury, it kind of is there. So, it’s just going to be a matter of if I can do my job, or if I can’t.”
As far as what he needs to show in practice in order to play, Tannehill said he has to be able to “move around” effectively and, ultimately, he has to be able to do his job and protect himself.
“Just being able to do my job effectively, and be able to move around,” he said. “Do my job, protect myself, and be able to not be a statue back there, right?
“Because that is not going to be an effective way to play a game, to not be able to move at all. [I need to] be able to move around in the pocket, evade a rush, get outside if I need to, that type of stuff.”
Tannehill’s athleticism has always been a weapon for the Titans, but it becomes even more important when the offensive line isn’t providing sufficient pass protection on any given week.
A hobbled Tannehill won’t stand much of a chance if the offensive line isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.
So, how did the Titans’ starting signal-caller spend his Sunday off? Yelling at the television, of course.
“I watched [Sunday’s game] at my house,” Tannehill said, per David Boclair of Sports Illustrated. “It was weird. It kind of felt surreal. It didn’t feel right at all. My kids were asking, ‘Why are you yelling at the TV? You don’t usually yell when you watch football.’
“Not a good feeling, and not something I want to make a habit of, for sure.”
