Quote about rookie QB shows why Ryan Tannehill was right to make his comments about mentoring Malik Willis
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill made his offseason a lot more interesting last week when he told reporters that it's not his job to mentor rookie quarterback Malik Willis. Tannehill's comments have been dissected an endless amount of times by analysts, commentators, and pro athletes (current and retired) over the last week. I've seen every […]
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill made his offseason a lot more interesting last week when he told reporters that it's not his job to mentor rookie quarterback Malik Willis.
Tannehill's comments have been dissected an endless amount of times by analysts, commentators, and pro athletes (current and retired) over the last week.
I've seen every take from "Tannehill is a bad teammate" to "it's not his job to mentor Willis".
Regardless of where you stand on Tannehill's comments, I think there's one thing we can all agree on — Willis should want to take Tanenhill's job.
I think that's true of every single rookie quarterback. At least it should be — if it's not, they probably don't have what it takes to be successful in the NFL.
Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, for example, made it clear during the pre-draft process that he plans on beating out a veteran for a starting job in 2022.
"Coaches who interviewed him (Ridder) noted that the QB outlined his plans to unseat a veteran wherever he landed," wrote ESPN's Jeremy Fowler this week.
If Ridder feels that way, then it's safe to assume that Willis (and every other quarterback) in this class feels the same way.
And if a rookie feels that way, then why should anyone think that Tannehill, an established starting quarterback who just led the Titans to the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC last year, should shift his focus from winning games to making sure Willis is prepared for a career in the NFL?
If you're an NFL player, your job is on the line every single week. Someone is always waiting in the wings to take your job and send you to the bench. If Tannehill allows his attention to wander from preparing to win games to preparing Willis to play, then he's going to quickly lose his job, regardless of whether or not Willis is ready to be an NFL starter.
The minute that Tannehill struggles, there will be legions of fans calling for Willis to start. Tannehill likely knows that which is why he's 100 percent focused on winning games in 2022.
If Tannehill's focus was on mentoring Willis, it would be a major disservice to everyone associated with the Titans.
But fortunately for Tennessee, Tannehill's focus is right where it should be.
Featured image via Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
