As if things couldn’t get any worse for the 2-4 Tennessee Titans, quarterback Ryan Tannehill suffered an ankle injury during the Week 6 loss that leaves his status up in the air as the team enters the bye week.
According to head coach Mike Vrabel, Tannehill’s injury is similar to the one he suffered in 2022 that cost him two games before he returned, reaggravated it and missed the final three contests.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Vrabel said, per Jim Wyatt. “We have some time here before our next game, and Ryan will get treatment around the clock. This will be a big week to see how he progresses and then we’ll make a decision on his availability next week and what we do then.”
Mike Vrabel said Ryan Tannehill's ankle looks similar to where it was last year. They'll evaluate it and make a decision this week.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) October 16, 2023
If you were hoping the Titans would simply make a switch under center even if Tannehill is healthy, you may want to put an end to those thoughts for now. Vrabel said Tannehill “will be our quarterback” if he’s healthy enough to play.
As far as who will replace the veteran signal-caller if he can’t go, that has yet to be decided.
“It will be (Malik Willis or Will Levis) if Ryan can’t go,” Vrabel said. “I don’t know who that would be yet. We’ll see how they continue to practice. It will be good to get them work this week with some guys they haven’t necessarily worked with – they’ve been working on the show team during the season, so I am excited to get both those guys some reps with some of our offensive guys and see how they handle that.”
Mike Vrabel said the #Titans have developed Will Levis & Malik Willis by having them call the plays the way their offense would instead of just reading plays off a card. They also work after practice w/the practice squad WRs on executing the game plan up and doen the field.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) October 16, 2023
Willis was the next man up in Week 6 with Levis serving as the emergency quarterback, but the Liberty product was not good and looked very much like the raw rookie we saw in 2022. Chances are he’ll get another shot if Tannehill can’t go, but Levis likely won’t be waiting long if Willis struggles again.
