Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill remains a free agent as he waits for the right situation to jump into. As of Thursday night, it would appear Tannehill has two of them.
One of those situations is in Green Bay, where the Packers will be without Jordan Love for what looks like several weeks, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The Packers currently have Malik Willis and Sean Clifford, but neither one is guaranteed to be enough to keep Green Bay afloat until Love returns.
And then there's the Miami Dolphins, where Tua Tagovailoa suffered his third known concussion in the NFL in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. Hopefully he will be OK, but it stands to reason he's going to miss time.
Tannehill has said he's open to playing in 2024, but it has to be the right situation. One would assume taking over the quarterback duties for one of two playoff contenders qualifies as one of those situations.
But it may not be as simple as that. Tannehill would also have to be willing to go back to the bench, assuming both Tua and Love return to the field at some point. Not having a full-season guarantee could lead to him balking at both jobs.
After being traded to the Titans in 2019, Tannehill revived his career there and was the quarterback of one of the best offenses in the NFL over his first three seasons. Things went off the rails the past two seasons, but that wasn't entirely Tannehill's fault, as he was surrounded with a lackluster receiving corps. and a terrible offensive line that routinely got him beat up.
At 36, Tannehill might not be the guy he was five years ago, but he's undoubtedly the best option available in free agency by a wide margin.
Miami in particular could be intriguing for Tannehill after he was drafted by the Dolphins and spent the first seven years of his career there.
Granted, things didn't exactly end well in South Beach for him, but a lot of time has passed since then and there's a different head coach at the helm. Miami also has a better assortment of weapons than Green Bay.
So, will either the Dolphins or Packers jump on Tannehill to fill their temporary voids? That will depend upon how long their quarterbacks are out and if they think their current backup options are enough.
While there is no deal right now, the Green Bay Packers have reached out to free agent quarterback Ryan Tannehill, sources tell @theathletic.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) September 8, 2024
The former Titans quarterback told me in July, for him to sign “it would have to be right situation.”
On paper, the Packers are in rough shape with Clifford and Willis. The latter did show progress this offseason, but he has yet to show he's a capable starter in the NFL. The former has never thrown a pass in a regular season game.
The Dolphins have Skylar Thompson on the 53-man roster and veteran Tim Boyle on the practice squad. Thompson has just two starts and 105 career passes under his belt, and Boyle offers an experienced but uninspiring option behind him.
Both teams will likely give it a go with the guys they already have, but if they get the results we expect out of those aforementioned options, it may not be long before we see Tannehill back in the NFL with one of them.
