The Titans know that Ryan Tannehill will be their starting quarterback come September as long as he is healthy, but they haven’t settled on who will step into action if Tannehill’s not available at that or any other point this season.
Logan Woodside filled the role during the 2020 season and threw three passes while appearing in six games. They also signed DeShone Kizer to serve as an emergency option in the event Tannehil and Woodside were knocked out by COVID-19 protocols.
Both are back this year and Kizer is actually practicing with the team this year after staying isolated in 2020. Kizer started and lost 15 games as a starter in Cleveland as a 2017 second-round pick and a trade to the Packers put him into the mix of players looking for a backup job. He’s also spent time with the Raiders and believes the whole package sets him up to make a strong bid for a spot in Tennessee.
“Obviously I’ve been a bit of a journeyman in the first four years of my career, so I’ve been able to hop on a few new teams in OTAs and gotten to know the guys,” Kizer said, via the team’s website. “I kind of consider myself a vet going into the season here. So it’s been awesome, to start to build that camaraderie with my other teammates in the locker room and spending time with the guys and trying to improve on the field so I can put myself in a position to compete in the preseason and training camp. . . . And along the way I have been able to find myself and how I want to go about playing the game. Picking up things from all those spots, it has put me in a position to compete.”
The Titans hope Tannehill is in the lineup for every game they play in 2021, but having the right No. 2 could keep the season from going south if that doesn’t happen.