The Tennessee Titans didn’t do much at the quarterback position during the 2021 NFL Draft. They didn’t draft a quarterback, which isn’t all that surprising, but it does put them in quite the predicament should Ryan Tannehill miss an extended period of time.
Tannehill will be the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans for at least the next two years, so it’s not shocking that the team opted not to draft a developmental option. As of now, the Titans have just three quarterbacks on their roster and they are:
- Ryan Tannehill
- Logan Woodside
- DeShone Kizer
Tannehill is entering his ninth year in the league and third with the Titans. He played the first six years of his career with the Dolphins before he was traded to Tennessee and took over for former No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota in the 2019 season. Tannehill had a great year in 2020, throwing for 3,819 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while also scampering for 266 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Woodside and Kizer will fight for the backup quarterback job this summer.
Woodside is a former seventh-round pick by the Bengals in 2018 and also spent time with Tennessee that year before landing a job with the San Antonio Commanders of the AAF. He returned to Tennessee following the end of the AAF and he’s remained a Titan ever since.
Kizer is a former second-round pick of the Browns back in 2017 and hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2018 when he did so with the Packers. There was a lot of optimism surrounding Kizer when he was drafted but Cleveland threw him under center too quickly and he never had a chance to succeed there.
The only quarterback competition for the Tennessee Titans will be at the backup spot.
The Titans might spend a draft pick on a quarterback in next year’s draft but it didn’t make a ton of sense for them to do so this year. Tannehill is the guy for at least two more years and for good reason. He’s had two really nice seasons for the Titans and given them stability at the most important position in the sport.
Woodside and Kizer aren’t exactly the best backups out there but both guys had impressive college careers. Woodside threw for 45 touchdowns during the 2016 season at Toledo while Kizer is a former Day 2 draft choice who was simply rushed into action before he was ready. There’s a lot to like about both of these quarterbacks but if Tannehill were to get injured, it could be tough sledding for Tennessee.
For what it’s worth, that tends to be the case with most NFL teams so the Titans are no different from anyone else. If Tannehill misses an extended period of time, Derrick Henry will have to pick up the slack even more so than usual.