i am no mentor, says Ryan Tannehill
Tennessee QB says it's not his job to help rookie Malik Willis
The challenge of mentorship amongst veteran quarterbacks is a divisive one. There can most effective be one starter and there’s no extra conspicuous rite of passage than an vintage vet buried six ft below on the intensity chart by a younger gun. Egos are fragile even though. Kurt Warner has expressed his choice for showing the ropes to “the next guy up”, and at one time, he did simply that for Eli Manning. however, whilst the reaper came for Eli, he rejected mentoring as one among his unwritten activity descriptions.
years in the past, Tannehill roped the Titans into a four-year extension well worth $118 million, consisting of $62 million in fully assured cash and $91 million in overall guarantees. Tannehill was clean off leading the Titans to the AFC Championship game after tossing 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. years later, the Titans appear ready for the “next man up.” Tannehill is essentially a handsomely paid independent contractor in 2022 while hoping he is introduced returned for 2023 as nicely.
throughout Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Tennessee decided on Liberty quarterback Malik Willis with the 86th average select. Willis become a first-spherical-caliber, dual-threat quarterback with mechanical and mental blemishes with a purpose to presumably maintain him redshirting for 2022. Now that the dirt has settled from Willis’ plummeting inventory and crash landing in Tennessee, Tannehill hears the ominous ticking on the time bomb that is his dwindling existence as a starter.
Willis is a set task the Titans QB instruct and offensive coordinator will paintings on. but Tannehill is sitting this one out as he informed the Nashville media Tuesday.
“That’s part of being in a quarterback room, within the same room — we’re competing towards each other, we’re watching the equal tape, we’re doing the same drills,” Tannehill defined to the media. “I don’t think it’s my activity to mentor him. but if he learns from me along the manner, then that’s a first rate thing.”
If it takes a village to elevate a quarterback, 33-year-vintage Ryan Tannehill wishes no part of that enterprise. The NFL is a commercial enterprise wherein every player is looking out for themselves earlier than their limited earning window slams close. Tannehill’s were given a pleasing little nest egg waiting for him in 2023. The longer it takes for Willis to bloom, the longer Tannehill remains the AFC’s Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s hard, unrewarding paintings, however a person’s gotta do it. If Willis improves too quick, Tannehill is out of a process.
Tannehill’s growing curmudgeonly in his twilight years and beginning to reveal some rust, however he can nonetheless sling it well enough to keep Titans lovers from grabbing their pitchforks. Tannehill did a cromulent activity in 2021 that Baker Mayfield in all likelihood should do for 1/2 the rate. but, the parameters of Tannehill’s contract prevent the Titans from waiving or trading him without incurring a huge monetary hit for 2023. in line with Spotrac, a pre-June 1 trade of Tannehill would go away the Titans with $28.4 million in dead cap. A publish-June 1 change might break up that lifeless cap charge between 2022 ($nine.6 million) and 2023 ($18.8 million).
In 2021, Tannehill controlled the game nicely enough for Tennessee to stumble into the AFC’s No. 1 seed without Derrick Henry within the backfield for nine video games. but, Henry’s absence turned into substantial in Tannehill’s manufacturing. Tannehill threw a profession-excessive 14 interceptions, fewer touchdowns than he did in his 12-recreation debut season in Tennessee and his yards gained according to attempt plummeted for the second one-instantly hit season.
The uneasiness over Tannehill Mayfielding it up and his Molotov cocktails game towards the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional round convinced Tennessee that drafting a rookie sign-caller they could mould into a capacity franchise quarterback might be in their nice hobbies. Tannehill desperately wants to keep away from the inescapable NFL clipboard-keeping senior home for so long as viable.
If Tannehill goes down and Willis isn’t ready. difficult good fortune, Tennessee. It takes a village to raise a quarterback. just don’t ask Tannehill to assist.