After tossing three interceptions in the Tennessee Titans’ divisional-round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, questions about Ryan Tannehill’s ability to take the Titans to where they want to go are very valid.
But, if you are in the camp of wanting the Titans to part ways with Tannehill to find another quarterback, there’s a big problem: the money.
Tannehill has dead cap hits of $57.4 and $18.8 million the next two seasons, so the Titans can’t cut him. The Titans signal-caller also has cap hits of $38.6 and $36.6 million over the next two years, thus he isn’t really tradable, either.
At bare bones minimum, Tannehill is locked in for at least one more season, and really, two more.
At this point, all the Titans can do at quarterback specifically is to bring in a better backup as an insurance policy, and/or draft one to be Tannehill’s successor.
However, Tennessee can make some changes to help their quarterback situation out, and that starts with the play-caller.
While Todd Downing wasn’t solely to blame for the offense taking a step back in 2021, he was certainly a detriment and deserves to be under the microscope at least.
Adding to that, the Titans need to beef up their offensive line and improve pass protection after Tennessee gave up 47 sacks, the seventh-most in the NFL.
Granted, pass protection wasn’t an issue against the Bengals, but the Titans do have a right tackle in David Quessenberry who gave up more sacks than any other offensive lineman in 2021.
Another area to address is at tight end, where Tennessee didn’t have a true every-down player. It also wouldn’t hurt to add another receiver who can stay healthy.
Of course, none of the aforementioned changes guarantee that Tannehill will win the big game next time around, but they at least put him in a better position to do so. That’s all Titans fans can ask for right now.
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