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The Tennessee Titans and quarterback Ryan Tannehill agreed to a huge contract extension on Sunday, averaging out to $29.5 million per year and among the NFL’s highest-paid passers. $62 million of the four-year contract are guaranteed, effectively tying Tannehill to the Titans for the foreseeable future. What does it mean for the New Orleans Saints?
Both of the top two quarterbacks on the Saints’ depth chart have contracts set to expire at the start of the new league year. While Drew Brees has committed to a reunion with New Orleans and is expected to sign at a below-market value (beneath the $29.5 million salary that Tannehill just signed on for), Teddy Bridgewater is poised to max out his earning potential in free agency.
If Tannehill can flirt with a $30 million annual salary, Bridgewater should have grounds to argue for it too. They each started the 2019 season as backups before getting promoted to the starting gig (temporarily, in Bridgewater’s case), though it’s worth noting that Tannehill is four years Bridgewater’s senior.
Interestingly, the game plans when they were each under center were not that — Tannehill averaged 25.4 pass attempts per game in his 13 starts (including the playoffs) while Bridgewater was asked to throw 33 times per game in the five contests he started. Bridgewater is a younger prospect whose team asked him to shoulder a heavy load as the starting quarterback; Tannehill handed the ball off to Derrick Henry 273 times in their 12 games together (Henry was held out of their Week 16 game, ironically against the Saints), a clip of 22.8 carries per game.
If Tannehill isn’t someone teams can trust to win games with his arm, and Bridgewater is, then what does that say about their value in free agency? We’re about to find out. While the Titans re-upping Tannehill takes one potential landing spot off of Bridgewater’s list, it should raise his stock among the teams courting him.
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