Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill remains a free agent waiting for the right situation to make the move. As of Thursday night, it appears Tannehill has two.
One such situation is in Green Bay, where the Packers will be without Jordan Love for what appears to be several weeks, according to NFL Network’s Ian RapoportThe Packers currently have Malik Willis and Sean Clifford, but neither is guaranteed to be enough to keep Green Bay afloat until Love returns.
And then there is the The Miami Dolphinswhere Tua Tagovailoa suffered his third known concussion in the NFL during a loss to the Buffalo BillsI hope he’s okay, but it makes sense that he’ll miss some time.
Tannehill said he was open for play in 2024but it has to be the right situation. One might assume that taking over quarterback duties for one of the two playoff contenders is one of those situations.
But it may not be that simple. Tannehill should also be ready to return to the bench, assuming Tua and Love both return to the court at some point. Not having a full-season guarantee could cause him to balk at both positions.
After being traded to the Titans in 2019, Tannehill resurrected his career there and was the quarterback of one of the NFL’s best offenses over his first three seasons. Things went off the rails over the last two seasons, but it wasn’t entirely Tannehill’s fault, as he was surrounded by a mediocre receiving corps and a terrible offensive line that had him getting beat up on a regular basis.
At 36, Tannehill may not be the guy he was five years ago, but he’s arguably the best option available in free agency by a wide margin.
Miami in particular could be of interest to Tannehill after he was drafted by the Dolphins and spent the first seven years of his career there.
Sure, things didn’t end well for him in South Beach, but a lot of time has passed since then and there’s another coach at the helm. Miami also has a better assortment of weapons than Green Bay.
So, will the Dolphins or Packers turn to Tannehill to fill their temporary voids? That will depend on how long their quarterbacks are out and whether they believe their current replacement options are sufficient.
While there is no deal at this time, the Green Bay Packers have reached out to free agent quarterback Ryan Tannehill, sources say. @theathletic.
The former Titans quarterback told me in July that for him to sign, “it would have to be the right situation.”
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) September 8, 2024
On paper, the Packers are in a bad position with Clifford and Willis. The latter showed progress this offseason, but he has yet to prove himself a competent starter in the NFL. The former has never thrown a pass in a regular-season game.
The Dolphins have Skylar Thompson on their 53-man roster and veteran Tim Boyle on their practice squad. Thompson has just two starts and 105 career assists, and Boyle provides an experienced but uninspiring option behind him.
Both teams will likely take their chances with the players they already have, but if they get the results we expect from the aforementioned options, it might not be long before we see Tannehill back in the NFL with one of them.
