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Ryan Tannehill might have some tequila tonight.
Titans GM Jon Robinson told reporters Friday night that the team not consulted with their current starting quarterback before trading for quarterback-select Malik Willis in round three of the 2022 NFL draft.
Willis, considered by many as a first round prospect, slipped through the first two rounds and into round three.
Tannehill did not show up for the start of the voluntary offseason program as he is entering the penultimate season of a four-year contract with the Titans. While the Cap consequences protected him from the team moving forward in 2022, it will be much easier for 2023 to move in a different direction.
Tannehill, a 2012 Dolphins top-10 pick, came to Tennessee three years ago when Marcus Mariota was the established starter. The Titans eventually benched Mariota for Tannehill, who won Comeback Player of the Year.
After three interceptions in a playoff loss for the top-seeded Titans to the Bengals, Tannehill became a magnet for criticism. The Titans circled the floats, but questions remained about his future with the team. With Willis now on the list, these questions will not go away.
Nothing the Titans say will change that, especially since the Titans have spent so much time in recent weeks insisting receiver AJ Brown will not be traded.
Brown was, and Tannehill’s status is bound to become uncertain. While he’ll no doubt be the guy for now, Willis will have a chance to become Tannehill’s heir if the Titans decide to continue after the upcoming season.
Whether Willis evolves becomes the joker in this equation. His overall status and attractiveness were called into question as he pushed through selection after selection. The titans have seen enough to barter and get him. Now, in a business heavily, if not entirely, based on results, Tannhill must show he can deliver the kind of performance that will have the Titans keeping Willis on the back burner indefinitely.
Tannehill has to deal with a new-look reception corps led by Robert Woods (acquired from the Rams) and Treylon Burks, a first-rounder who is expected to step in directly and replace AJ Brown.