Today’s NFL typically gives first-round quarterbacks not much time to figure out the pro game. Ryan Tannehill, the eighth overall pick in 2012, got seven seasons with the Dolphins to try to figure it out.
In his two seasons with the Titans, Tannehill has figured it out.
“Ryan’s worked very hard,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel told Houston reporters on Thursday. “He came in as a backup and made the switch. He’s become a very efficient quarterback for us. A very good leader. This team means a lot to him. He’s a captain, obviously. In his command and what we’re trying to do each and every week, gets us in the right plays. He gets the ball out of his hands. He can keep plays alive. He can scramble.
“I think he’s having fun. I think he’s enjoying it. That’s something that he would say is that he’s having fun and took advantage of the opportunity last year when it came to him and certainly has not looked back.”
Indeed he hasn’t. And it worked out perfectly for him to land in Tennessee, where the Titans weren’t sold on Marcus Mariota and eventually decided to given Tannehill a chance to show what he can do. To his credit, and as Vrabel said, Tannehill took full advantage of the opportunity.
Along the way, he signed a four-year deal that pays out more through 2023 than the longer-term deals signed by Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
The end result? Tannehill looks different. He plays different. He has a quiet swagger and a not-so-subtle chip on his shoulder. Even now, as he continues to play incredibly well week in and week out, some remain stuck in the outdated notion that Tannehill is a bust.
While it didn’t work out for him in Miami (it was working out in 2016, until a low hit from Calais Campbell derailed the rest of the season and eventually all of 2017), it’s finally working out for him now. And it could work out all the way to a Super Bowl win for Tannehill and the Titans.