Former Pro Bowl Quarterback is Looking For NFL Return — But There’s a Catch

One former Pro Bowl NFL quarterback could be looking to return to the league, but there is a catch. Veteran signal-caller Ryan Tannehill remains on the open market as a free agent, but would return for the “right situation.”

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, teams have shown some interest in Tannehill this offseason, but he hasn’t decided to return yet.

“What would it take for him to leave his family and go play one more season? Essentially, the perfect opportunity,” Rapoport writes. “Sources say it would take a playoff contender in need of a quarterback, a team with a strong offensive line and offensive weapons. The money also would have to be right.”

Tannehill last played a year ago, starting in eight games for the Tennessee Titans. He posted a record of 3-5 over the entire season but lost his job in Week 10 when former head coach Mike Vrabel announced that Will Levis would be taking over his job.

It was somewhat of a gut punch for Tannehill but his play had declined. He didn’t look the same when he was on the field but the Titans offensive line also wasn’t performing very highly either.

Tannehill started the final two games of the season after Levis suffered an injury, helping the Titans to eliminate the division-rival Jacksonville Jaguars. For the season, he threw for 1,616 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

The former Texas A&M quarterback also rushed for 74 yards and one score on the ground.

A return to the NFL for Tannehill remains to be seen. But he discussed it this offseason, saying that he is happy where he is in life but would love for something to come up.

“Maybe a guy goes down and a team gives me a call, you never know what’s going to happen, right?” Tannehill said in July. “So, just keeping the options open. But at the same time, not waiting on pins and needles for that call. I’m enjoying where I’m at. … where my family, life is. You know, if something comes up, then fantastic. I’ll jump wholeheartedly into it. But at the same time, not purely just waiting on that.”

Throughout his career, Tannehill has been a player who teams could win regular season games with, but rarely journeyed far in the playoffs. He led the Titans to the AFC Championship game in 2019, the only long playoff run of his career.

The 2019 season was the only one in which Tannehill made the Pro Bowl. It remains to be seen if he will end up returning to the NFL, but it sounds like he is at least open to the idea.

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