NFL.com writer weighs in on Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill’s FA value
Both Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota will be free agents after this season. One NFL.com writer is high on one of them, while not so high on the other.
Around The NFL editor Gregg Rosenthal believes that Ryan Tannehill has already earned himself a big contract next year, but he wasn’t as high on Marcus Mariota.
In his article covering 2020 NFL free agency, Rosenthal heaped highly complimentary adulation Tannehill, the Tennessee Titans’ starting quarterback.
"Tannehill has earned future money and playing time during his five sturdy starts this season, the goal of any impending free agent. In Tennessee’s resounding 42-20 win over the Jaguars on Sunday, Tannehill played like a better version of Marcus Mariota, smarter about when to use his legs and more willing to make tight-window throws. No one will confuse Tannehill with a top-10 difference-maker, but league-average quarterbacks hold plenty of value, especially for this balanced Titans roster."
While stating that he believes that the Titans should retain Tannehill next offseason, he also acknowledged that the Titans should have a backup plan in case things do not pan out in 2020 and beyond, citing the struggles the Titans faced in the past when Mariota had gone down with injuries.
"It’s hard to imagine the Titans letting go of Tannehill, who signed a one-year deal with Tennessee this March after being acquired via trade, with the 31-year-old making sense as part of a two-part plan at the position that also should include a draft pick. As the Titans learned this season and throughout the Mariota era, it’s dangerous to have all your organizational eggs in one basket at quarterback."
So far this season, Tannehill has gone 111-of-154 (72 percent completion rate) for 1,420 yards, 10 touchdowns and just four interceptions in seven games and five starts. He’s also rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
Tannehill has earned his keep so far in 2019 and has galvanized what was once one of the most underwhelming offenses in the league.
In the first six games, the team went 2-4, and averaged 16.3 points per game. Since Tannehill has taken over, the team has won four of it’s last five games and has averaged 29.4 points per game, an astounding turnaround for a team once considered all but dead in the water early in the season.
As long as Tannehill and the Titans have a strong finish to the season, he will definitely earn starter money somewhere, preferably in Tennessee.
In the same article, Rosenthal was not very high on Mariota’s value in the open market.
"Some team will bring in Marcus Mariota as a quality backup quarterback next season, but it’s hard to imagine him getting a contract much better than what Teddy Bridgewater signed for in New Orleans this year."
Teddy Bridgewater signed a one-year deal with the New Orleans Saints this past offseason. The deal is worth $7.2M.
Mariota likely will get a similar deal to that, considering the fact that he is a year younger than Bridgewater and by this season’s end will have been in the league the same amount seasons that Bridgewater was before signing that contract.
In his five seasons with the Titans, Mariota has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 13,183 yards, 75 touchdowns, and 44 interceptions, leading the Titans to nine fourth quarter comebacks and 11 game-winning drives.
His downfall, however, was his inability to stay healthy, as he missed parts of each of his first four seasons due to various injuries. That, along with sub-par seasons in 2017 and 2018, led the team to eventually bench him in favor of Tannehill this season.
There are still five more games left in the season, and anything can happen, but as of now, Tannehill’s value is through the roof, while Mariota will likely have to look for a new home to prove that he can still be a franchise quarterback.