It appears as though Ryan Tannehill has come to his senses regarding rookie quarterbacks. The 35-year-old is choosing to take a different approach with Will Levis than he did Malik Willis.
He is willing to mentor the former, who recently took his place atop the depth chart.
That was not the case with the latter.
Ryan Tannehill, the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, was traded from Miami to Tennessee in 2019. The starting job in Nashville was his right away.
The Titans won seven games in his first season, 11 in his second and 12 in his third. They reached the AFC Championship during the 2019 season, lost the Wild Card game in 2020 and lost the Divisional Round game in 2021.
Everything was going well. Despite the success of Tannehill, Tennessee chose to draft Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. It was a project pick, and the thought was that he could take over once Tannehill was done, but it was still a point of contention. There were still rumblings that the rookie could replace the veteran if the incumbent continued to decline as he did in 2021.
Tannehill was asked about his relationship with Willis shortly after the Draft. His answer was aggressive.
That (competition) is part of being in the quarterback room, the same room. We’re competing against each other, we’re watching the same tape, we’re doing the same drills. I don’t think it’s my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way, then that’s a great thing.
— Ryan Tannehill on May 3, 2022
Although Tannehill was far from the first NFL veteran who refused to mentor a younger player, it was still pretty tense. Especially since he stated it so bluntly.
Well, now more than a year later, things are entirely different. Willis is likely a bust. The team decided to draft Levis out of Kentucky (and Penn State) back in April.
Tannehill won the starting job during the offseason, however, the rookie played incredibly well during his first two NFL starts while the veteran was dealing with injury in each of the last two weeks. As a result, Levis was named the starter for this coming Sunday.
Tannehill admitted that being benched “hits hard.”
This time, though, he is willing to help out. Tannehill wouldn’t mentor Willis. He is apparently willing to do so with Will Levis.