The Tennessee Titans officially opted to secure quarterback Ryan Tannehill for the long haul this offseason. Of course, this came after plenty of speculation regarding their interest in now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
The Titans had been pegged as one of the frontrunners to land Brady's services after he parted ways with the New England Patriots in free agency. On a Tuesday conference call with Titans beat writers, Tannehill admits that it was difficult to ignore all the rumors that were swirling (via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk):
“I really didn’t know what was going to happen … Obviously, I knew we were in negotiations and kind of working on it, but you don’t know. As a player, you don’t know if those things are real, if they’re trying to play both sides of coin or what. I just tried to stay true to the things I believed in and lean on the people I love and just try to trust the process. I knew if they wanted me back, then we were going to get it worked out, and if they wanted to sign Tom, then they probably would have signed Tom.
I try not listen too much to it. Obviously, I was aware of the situation. I knew it could be happening, but I wasn’t sitting at home stressed. ‘What could happen? What could happen?’ Because at that point, it was really kind of out of my hands. I’m thankful the way it worked out. I was excited to be back. I wanted to be back. I love the guys on the team. I like the direction this program is headed off what we did last year and how I think we can build on that going into my year two with this team. Obviously, excited to be back. Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was nerve-racking day by day or anything like that.”
Tannehill's comments are certainly understandable considering all the reported interest coming out of Tennessee. After all, they are coming off an impressive playoff run in the 2019 campaign and Brady's relationship with Titans head coach Mike Vrabel seemed to solidify the fact that the feeling was mutual.
A deal never came to fruition and Tannehill received a lucrative payday from the Titans with a four-year, $118 million extension that includes $62 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, the Bucs signed Brady to a two-year, $50 million deal just three days later.
Although Brady's arrival in Tampa Bay has generated plenty of hype going into the 2020 NFL season, Tennessee has good reason to keep the blueprint intact with the resurgence Tannehill led down the stretch. Especially now that there is one less elite quarterback to worry about in the AFC. The onus will now fall on the reigning Comeback Player of the Year to show that last year was no fluke.
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