Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis, and the Titans QB situation against Texans
As the Tennessee Titans head into Houston for a divisional matchup with the Texans on Sunday, the story of the weekend surrounds the injury status of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Tennessee's Week 7 win over Indianapolis, and while he finished the game, the 10-year veteran […]
As the Tennessee Titans head into Houston for a divisional matchup with the Texans on Sunday, the story of the weekend surrounds the injury status of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Tennessee's Week 7 win over Indianapolis, and while he finished the game, the 10-year veteran has not participated in Titans practice so far this week. Rookie third round draft pick Malik Willis has been taking reps in his absence.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is leaving Tannehill's status up in the air. After practice on Friday, Vrabel told Titans media that they were going to “give him as much time as possible” and decide later on.
That leaves two obvious questions looming. Can Ryan Tannehill tough it out on Sunday, and should the Titans still be willing to play him through a nagging injury?
Can Tannehill tough it out?
I tend to believe that Tannehill will play on Sunday, but that's nothing more than a gut feeling at this point.
The Titans quarterback has made 49 consecutive starts for the team dating back to when he took over during the 2019 season. That streak is the current franchise record, and is a testament to his toughness and leadership over the last few years.
It helps that he’s a veteran that is familiar with the offense. It also helps that the Titans’ offense is not complicated. It's run-heavy with a lot of “bread-and-butter” schemes, as Todd Downing would call them. For the most part, Tannehill just needs to be healthy enough to manage the game, and missing practice reps is nothing he can't recover from.
That’s all working in his favor, and history would suggest that Tannehill will play through it, but as the week has gone on, I have become increasingly skeptical. The only time we saw 17 on the practice field this week was to assist Malik Willis during drills without taking any reps himself. The walking boot is off, but it has been challenging to get a feel for how serious things actually are.
It is possible that the Titans are installing a game plan to fit Willis’ skillset, and Tannehill’s questionable status is just to keep Houston on edge, but for now, I tentatively expect Tannehill to be out there.
Should the Titans still use him?
Without question, if Ryan Tannehill is able to play in any capacity, he needs to be the Titans starting quarterback in Houston.
Risking reinjury is not ideal and Malik Willis is looking much improved in his practice reps, but the Titans cannot afford to overlook the Texans and drop a divisional game. The AFC South battle is far from over, and Houston has been far more competitive that their record might suggest.
As Mike Vrabel pointed out to the media before Wednesday’s practice, the Texans have outscored their opponents 99-79 through the first three quarters of their games.
At the end of the day, the Titans are not expecting to put up 30+ points and win this game with dominant offense. With or without Ryan Tannehill, that’s not their brand of football in 2022.
They run the ball well, they convert in the red zone, they play timely defense, and they don’t make the big mistakes on the offensive end. That’s why things have worked so well up to this point.
With Willis in the game, you run the risk of an inexperienced quarterback making rookie mistakes that allow a game to slip away. You know Tannehill won’t make the big error, and that’s really all you’re asking for at this point.
Play Tannehill, put the ball in Derrick Henry’s gut 30 times, and hope to squeak out a win.
Yes, Kansas City is next week. Yes, you want Tannehill at 100 percent for that game. Yes, I’m saying he should play in Houston anyway.
Image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK
