All of Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson’s comments after the acquisition of Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill pointed at him being no more than an insurance policy.
Robinson told Tannehill that Mariota was the clear starter moving forward, and that he was brought in to help push Mariota.
But this week on ESPN’s NFL Live, former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum and ex-Dolphins beat writer Jeff Darlington predicted the Titans would ultimately favor Tannehill at quarterback going into the 2020 season.
Darlington based his reasoning off of Mariota’s inability to stay healthy over recent seasons.
“…if by week eight (Mariota) all of a sudden goes down with some kind of injury, Ryan Tannehill, as Mike and I know very well in South Florida, will come in there and look really pretty and really good.” he said. “And all the sudden he is going to be the type of practice player that’s going to make the Titans believe that he could be their guy. I believe that, ultimately, the Titans will enter 2020 believing that Ryan Tannehill will be their franchise quarterback.”
Tannenbaum seemed to agree.
“When healthy, he’s been a starting — winning quarterback. That’s not hope. That’s not conjecture. That’s just the facts.”
As Mariota enters the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, it’s highly important that he stays durable. He can’t afford any subpar performances or additional missed time.
It will be interesting to see how the situation shakes out of the course of the regular season.
