One of the hottest names on the free-agent market, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, won’t hit the open market.
According to multiple reports, Tannehill has agree to re-sign with the Tennessee Titans.
The former first-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins resurrected his career in 2019 with the Titans, and will now reportedly sign a four-year, $118 million deal with $62 million guaranteed, making him the team’s unquestioned starter for the foreseeable future.
The 2019 NFL season was all about resurgence for Ryan Tannehill, who was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. The 31-year-old signal caller was able to lead the Titans to a conference title game after replacing an ineffective Marcus Mariota, beating two Super Bowl favorites, the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, along the way.
Tannehill’s efficiency passing the ball and Derek Henry’s power-running attack led the Titans to an improbable Wild Card playoff run. He recorded the third highest completion percentage (70.3%), and the highest yards per completion (13.6) in the NFL in 2019. He also posted the best quarterback rating in the league (117.5), beating out Drew Brees (116.3) and MVP Lamar Jackson (113.3).
Titans General Manager Jon Robinson was unable to give a definitive answer on whether the 31-year-old would be receiving a franchise tag in Indianapolis during the Combine this February, likely because of plans to pursue 42-year-old free agent Tom Brady.
“The 2020 Titans, they’re going to look different than the 2019 Titans. That’s the way it is. The 2019 Titans looked different than the 2018 Titans. There’s rookies that come in. There’s trades, free agency, there’s waiver claims. And we told our team that. They understand that. They’re professionals,” said Robinson.
As it turns out, neither avenue was necessary.
Tannehill was hoping all along to continue to build with Tennessee despite the tremendous value he would have attracted on the open market.
“I’d like for things to line up and I’d like to be back (in Tennessee) if it all gets worked out, but you never know what is going to happen,” according to Tannehill (via the Titans website). “So you have to try and mentally prepare for that as well, what else can happen. We’ll just have to see. But hopefully we can get things worked out and keep building on what we did this year.”
Tannehill deservedly got what he was hoping for.
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