Tennessee Titans were wise to trade for Ryan Tannehill

The Tennessee Titans made what was seemingly a quiet move last week. After much of the free agency madness had subsided, Tennessee general manager Jon Robinson traded a late-round pick to land quarterback Ryan Tannehill from the Miami Dolphins.

Tannehill, 30, had been a starter throughout his entire career with the Dolphins. Save for a lost season in 2017 due to a torn ACL. In seven years with Miami — including the campaign he missed — Tannehill threw for 20,434 yards and 123 touchdowns. Although, he only reached the playoffs once. In short, he was a decent player with a low ceiling. One that was never going to help the Dolphins win anything significant.

All of this makes him the quintessential backup quarterback.

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The Tennessee Titans has long needed a better option to play behind Marcus Mariota. Last year, the Tennessee Titans were playing in Week 17 on national television with a win-and-in scenario. Unfortunately, this meant that Blaine Gabbert was going to have to beat the Indianapolis Colts. This was because Mariota was once again on the shelf with a nerve issue in his arm.

That injury has been something of a recurring one over the past few years. As a result, it speaks to a much larger concern for the Titans. When Mariota missed the season-finale for Tennessee last season, there were reports that had Mariota played and been hit the wrong way, his career could have been permanently altered. Considering this isn’t the first time his arm has dealt with nerve problems, the Titans should be aggressively preparing for him to sit for a long length of time at some juncture.

If Mariota does miss a legitimate swatch of time or a critical game, Tannehill is more than capable of shouldering the burden. While Tennessee is certainly one of the more run-heavy teams in the league, the Titans still needed to be better under center in all facets. Again, this brings us to another critical point.

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If Mariota plays poorly — he’s never thrown for 3,500 yards in a season and topped 20 passing touchdowns just once — does Tannehill get a shot to start? The Titans aren’t going to bench Mariota after a bad week, but if the offense is terrible, why not give their new addition a chance? Mariota’s contract runs out after this season, and so if things go proverbially south, Tennessee can cut bait and run. In other words, they don’t have to deal with any long-term confidence issues.

All told, the Titans bought themselves a quality insurance policy at a low premium.