Redemption story continues
Tannehill started season on bench, now in AFC title game
The NFL works in mysterious ways. Just when it seemed time to pronounce Ryan Tannehill a pro-football failure, traded by the Miami Dolphins and relegated to backup status with the Tennessee Titans, he has reemerged as a prospective franchise quarterback, his resume suddenly bolstered by being the league’s top-rated passer this season and a centerpiece player for the team that has become the darling of these playoffs as it vies for the AFC title Sunday at Kansas City.
Tannehill’s surprising success this season for the Titans means that another reevaluation of the memorable quarterback draft class of 2012 is in order. It adds intrigue to the speculation surrounding the potential moves of quarterbacks who will be available during the upcoming offseason. Such weighty issues can be resolved later. For now, it’s Tannehill against the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes in an unlikely quarterback duel, with a trip to the Super Bowl in Miami at stake.
That would make for the most triumphant of returns to South Florida for Tannehill.
“Big picture, yeah, you dream of playing in the Super Bowl,” Tannehill said in Baltimore after the Titans’ upset last Saturday night of the Ravens. “But as the season goes on, it’s one week at a time, do whatever I can each and every week to come away with a win.”
For much of the season, Tannehill had to do quite a bit for the Titans to win. He had 22 touchdown passes, only six interceptions and a leaguebest passer rating of 117.5 while playing in 12 games during the regular season. He made 10 starts and aided the Titans’ turnaround from a 2-4 beginning when coach Mike Vrabel turned to him and benched starter Marcus Mariota.
During the postseason, much less has been asked of Tannehill. He did provide a pair of touchdown passes in the 28-12 triumph over the Ravens. But he has thrown only 29 passes over two games while totaling a modest 160 passing yards in the Titans’ victories at New England and Baltimore. The Titans bludgeoned the Patriots and Ravens with the bruising running of tailback Derrick Henry, who totaled 377 rushing yards.
“It’s definitely unusual,” Tannehill said of the consecutive playoffs wins with fewer than 100 passing yards. “I can’t say I’ve seen it before. But that’s kind of the way the games have played out. We’re not dropping back much, not throwing the ball much at all. But we’re moving the ball . . . on the ground, and Derrick’s done a great job making big plays, running physical and finishing runs. The offensive line is doing a great job of moving the line of scrimmage and giving him creases. So at this point in the season, it’s about doing whatever it takes to win, whether it’s throwing it 30 [times] or throwing it 10.”
When the Titans traded fourthand seventh-round draft picks to the Dolphins in March for Tannehill and a sixth-round choice, they were getting an insurance policy for Mariota. This season was supposed to be a referendum on whether to re-sign him. Instead, the Titans now face a new quarterback dilemma: Should they sign Tannehill, also a prospective free agent, to a lucrative long-term deal to stay?
He is 31 and has a history of injuries, having missed 24 games over his final three seasons with the Dolphins. He had some productive seasons in Miami but never quite fulfilled the promise of being the eighth overall selection in that 2012 draft.
It will be an offseason in which fellow quarterbacks Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Jameis Winston, Teddy Bridgewater and Dak Prescott also are potential free agents. Teams will have options. But some around the league suspect Tannehill has found a home and the Titans have found a quarterback.
“I don’t know if he’ll want top dollar, and I doubt they’d be willing