Ryan

Tannehill

No surprise, as the Raiders will be without QB Aidan O’Connell (wrist) for up to eight weeks. One name that has been floated as a potential replacement by the Las Vegas Journal-Review’s Vincent Bonsignore is Ryan Tannehill, and even with the 37-year-old sitting out the 2024 season, it would make sense to acquire a player with his experience/relative success rather than roll with Cam Miller as the backup for Geno Smith.

“Talks are ongoing and nothing is imminent as of right now,” Schultz added. 36-year-old Tannehill surprisingly spent 2024 out of the league after his Titans contract expired. It was reported in September it would take the “perfect opportunity” for him to sign somewhere, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Friday evening that remains the case. The Vikings appear serious about adding a veteran mentor for J.J. McCarthy, and Tannehill would be a far better option than Aaron Rodgers in that regard. Rodgers, of course, is probably still better at football. The odds seem high Tannehill has probably played his final down.

Per Rapoport, Tannehill is looking for a “playoff contender in need of a quarterback, a team with a strong offensive line and offensive weapons.” He also needs to get paid well. It’s a big ask coming from a 36-year-old quarterback who struggled to stay healthy in 2023 before being benched for rookie Will Levis. While Rapoport doesn’t say this directly, the timing of the report is clearly in reference to the Packers’ multi-week loss of Jordan Love. The young quarterback suffered an MCL sprain in Week 1 and is expected to miss a few weeks. If Green Bay is willing to pay Tannehill, they check all of his boxes. Even an aging Tannehill would bring more to the Packers’ offense than Malik Willis, their current backup, or Sean Clifford, who will get called up from their practice squad this week.

A win over the division rival Jags put a nice bow on an otherwise disappointing season for Tannehill. He opened the year as Tennessee’s starter but an ankle injury knocked him out after six games. By the time he was ready to retake the field, head coach Mike Vrabel had moved on from the veteran in favor of second-round rookie Will Levis. Tannehill had thrown two touchdowns and six interceptions over the first six weeks of the season, so it made sense for the team to see what they had with the rookie. Tannehill reemerged at the end of the season while Levis nursed multiple injuries. He started in Week 16, took over for Levis early in Week 17, and started once more to close out the regular season. Tannehill ended the year with 1,616 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Tannehill peaked in his first season with the Titans in 2019 and his play has slowly declined ever since. He will be a free agent in the spring and it’s hard to imagine a team viewing him as anything other than a bridge option for one year. Tannehill could instead sign with a contending team as a highly-paid backup, similar to Marcus Mariota with the Eagles or Jameis Winston with the Saints.

Will Levis will be sidelined by a foot injury, paving the way for Tannehill to start in what will likely be his final game as a Titan. In his last two games, Tannehill has thrown for 320 scoreless yards and hasn’t thrown a touchdown since Week 4 against the Bengals. Tannehill and the Titans will look to pull off an upset win over the Jaguars to end their playoff hopes, but at 5-11, that seems like a long shot.

Tannehill took over for Will Levis after the rookie went down with a foot injury in the first half. Tannehill himself was sacked five times and was knocked down on a few other occasions. The hits seemingly took a toll on him as Malik Willis was spotted warming up on the sidelines but never got in the game for any pass attempts. Tannehill will likely start in Week 18 if Levis can’t suit up, though Mike Vrabel could throw us a curveball and give Willis the start. Either way, we wouldn’t recommend playing any of these quarterbacks in season-long or DFS to close out the regular season.

Levis may still get a questionable tag when the Titans release their injury report, but we fully expect Levis to suit up this week. The rookie missed Week 16 while recovering from a nagging ankle sprain. Levis has thrown multiple touchdowns in a game just once since his four-score debut. He will sit at the bottom of the QB2 ranks for his matchup with Houston.

Oh, but Derrick Henry threw a touchdown pass. It was as uninspiring a performance from Tannehill as the stats would indicate. Tannehill was under constant pressure, taking six sacks and being hit eight times. He rarely took shots down the field and when he did, he was either off target or bailed out by pass interference calls. None of the wide receivers on Tennessee had more than 25 yards receiving and both fantasy managers and Tennessee fans can be thankful that Will Levis will likely return next week.

Levis didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday but returned for a light session to close the week. He is going to try to tough it out and play through the ankle issue, though the Titans will likely take things down to their pre-game warmup before making a final determination on him. Levis has posted pedestrian fantasy numbers outside of his four-score debut. The injury ambiguity makes this situation a clear fade for the penultimate round of the fantasy season. Ryan Tannehill will start if Levis can’t go.

Will Levis suffered a sprained ankle in Week 15 and appears unlikely to play on Sunday against the Seahawks, paving the way for veteran signal caller Ryan Tannehill to re-enter the starting lineup under center. Tannehill last played in Week 6 before giving way to Levis following an ankle injury.