No, Ryan Tannehill won’t be the Week 1 starter over Marcus Mariota, and it would take a lot for the former Miami Dolphin to ever assume the role for the Tennessee Titans.
But, the team still faces many questions at the quarterback position ahead of the 2019 season with Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill and Logan Woodside all on the current 90-man roster.
Here’s a quick look at a few of those.
1. Should Logan Woodside crack his way onto the final 53-man roster?
The Titans aren’t known to keep three quarterbacks on the roster, but Woodside has had about as good of a camp and preseason as anyone could have hoped for.
The former AAF quarterback has completed 18-of-32 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns over a pair of preseason games. His second contest didn’t go nearly as well as the first, as he struggled to engineer a scoring drive behind an offensive line that was having trouble getting the job done.
If he wasn’t constantly under duress against the Patriots, the stats sheet may have looked a bit better for Woodside.
Whether the Titans actually make the move to keep him on the active roster is a question that remains without an answer for now.
2. Can Marcus Mariota stay healthy for a full 16 games?
He’s yet to do it since he was originally drafted in 2015.
It’s prove-it year for Mariota as he enters the fifth and final year of his rookie deal. While some have questioned his ability to deliver consistently solid performances, what’s more concerning is his ability to stay healthy to prove himself for an entire NFL season.
Mariota did add some “good weight” this offseason, and is currently listed at 222 on the team’s website. In theory, this should help him absorb big hits better.
It should also allow him to be more comfortable in order to ultimately make better decisions in the pocket as opposed to constantly running and scrambling on plays he could have completed a pass on instead.
3. Will Ryan Tannehill remain the reliable insurance policy he’s looked to be thus far?
While Tannehill doesn’t stand a chance at taking Mariota’s position right out of the gate – and it will take the starter being sidelined for him to even begin to get a shot at the job – he has looked impressive throughout camp and the preseason.
Midway through the preseason, Tannehill has looked like the overqualified insurance policy he is, completing 19-of-27 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns in limited action.
It will be interesting to see if Tannehill can continue his streak of success as time goes on, and perhaps more importantly, if he’s thrust into regular season action with a new team if and when Mariota does go down at some point in the future.
