Perhaps the biggest decision new Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon will have to make this offseason is what to do at quarterback.
Tennessee has Ryan Tannehill under contract, but there’s a chance the team moves on from him after failing to get over the hump to a Super Bowl in the previous four seasons.
Tannehill’s cap hit is also significant, as he’s set to account for $36.6 million in 2023.
Cutting him would save $17.8 million, but the team would then have to add a replacement, which could prove costly when you consider the Titans would be paying Tannehill AND the new quarterback.
If the Titans keep Tannehill, they have the option of reworking his deal in order to free up cap space, a move that would likely prove to be most beneficial in terms of giving Tennessee the most to work with.
When first asked about Tannehill’s future in Tennessee in his introductory press conference, Carthon was rightly mum, as he had barely gotten his foot in the door, let alone done enough to be ready to make such a decision.
“I don’t think that’s fair at this point,” Carthon said, per John Glennon of Sports Illustrated. “We’re still evaluating the roster. I am, and that’s going to take further conversations with me and Mike [Vrabel] here. Ryan has been great here. He’s won a lot of football games and I look forward to us winning football games. But I still need more time to evaluate and make those decisions.”
When asked about what he’s looking for in a quarterback on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast recently, Carthon described someone who sounds a lot like Tannehill.
“Guys that are able to deliver the ball on time and accurately — just where it’s supposed to be — and then have some toughness to them,” Carthon said, via David Boclair of Sports Illustrated. “All those things kind of help, especially at that position.”
“I like anticipatory passers,” Carthon added. “You’ve got some guys that can get the ball out quick. They know where the spot is. They can get it there accurately. The anticipation, accuracy — I think those two attributes for a quarterback may help them overcome a couple physical limitations that they may have. You don’t have to have the strongest arm if you can get it out early and get it there accurately.
“And then just overall toughness — both mental and physical. Playing that position, it takes a toll on you over the course of an 18-week regular season and [not] even talking about making it into the playoffs and how that goes.”
Of course, some of the big-name quarterbacks that figure to be available this offseason will be linked to the Titans via speculation one way or the other, but the most realistic scenario is Tannehill returning for one more season.
