The Ryan Tannehill era in Nashville has ended but where will he end up for the 2024 season? The Tennessee Titans will be moving on from the former Texas A&M quarterback and moving onto the Will Levis era but Tannehill still remains unsigned, as of this writing.
Where could Tannehill be playing in 2024? Let's look at some potential options that make sense for the former Titans quarterback as he enters the 12th year of his NFL career.
Chicago Bears
With the Bears owning the number one pick and likely taking Caleb Williams with that pick, they could use a true veteran quarterback to help mentor Williams as he enters year 1 of his NFL career. Whether the Bears plan to start Williams right out of the gates or not remains to be seen but if they signed Tannehill, he could either start and mentor Williams or be a solid backup for the rookie signal-caller while still mentoring him.
We've seen in the past how veteran quarterbacks mentoring rookies can do wonders for their career (just look at Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City) so if the Bears wanted to try and replicate that, signing Tannehill could make sense here.
As of now, the Bears have Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien on their roster at quarterback. Bagent did okay when being forced into action last year but Tannehill might be a better mentor for Williams.
Denver Broncos
One of the few remaining NFL teams without a legitimate starting quarterback is the Denver Broncos, who as of this writing, have Jarrett Stidham as their number one signal-caller. Sean Payton has always been viewed as an offensive guru (it certainly helps when you have Drew Brees as your quarterback for over a decade) but it'd make sense if he wants to find his own quarterback in the draft.
That being said, even if the Broncos are able to land J.J. McCarthy or Bo Nix or whoever they want in the draft, having a solid veteran backup could make a lot of sense for them. Yes, Stidham has proven to be a decent backup but Tannehill would be a better option than the current Broncos starter.
Tannehill wouldn't be the quarterback of the future in Denver but he could help out their rookie signal-caller and be a nice option to have in case of injuries.
Kansas City Chiefs
Last, but most certainly not least, there's the back-to-back reigning Super Bowl champions, who could make a lot of sense for Ryan Tannehill as he enters the next phase of his career. Obviously Tannehill wouldn't be the starter in Kansas City but the Chiefs have had a tendency to sign veteran backups to sit behind Patrick Mahomes in case of an injury.
Earlier in Mahomes' career, Chad Henne was the Chiefs backup quarterback and he was called into action on a few occasions. Last year, it was Blaine Gabbert who sat behind Mahomes and he got a second Super Bowl ring out of it. Gabbert has not re-signed with the Chiefs, as of this writing, and the only other quarterbacks not named Mahomes on the Chiefs roster are Ian Book and Chris Oladokun. Neither of these guys is expected to be the backup quarterback when the season begins.
If Tannehill is okay with being a backup and only stepping in when needed, the Chiefs could be a great landing spot for him. He'd have a chance to sit behind the best quarterback in the league right now, have a future Hall of Fame coach mentoring him, and potentially win a Super Bowl ring.