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The Tennessee Titans received some bad news on Thursday, as starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill went on the COVID-19 list and will miss five to 10 days.
Titans reporter Jim Wyatt broke the news of Tannehill landing on the COVID list, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter provided the aforementioned timeline for the signal-caller’s return to action.
NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe provided further details on Tannehill’s status, indicating that Tennessee is working to contain a potential outbreak situation, as multiple personnel, including head coach Mike Vrabel, have tested positive for COVID-19:
This is another reminder that the pandemic is still a very real thing, and first and foremost, the hope is that Tannehill and all the other Titans make a quick and full recovery. As general manager Jon Robinson mentioned, Tannehill is vaccinated, which should mitigate the severity of his case.
The 2020 NFL season was marred by players missing time due to COVID health and safety protocols and/or positive tests. Quarterback situations are inevitably the most impactful, and from last year, the most extreme example arose when the Denver Broncos were forced to start a practice squad wide receiver, Kendall Hinton, at QB.
- Ryan Tannehill stats (2020, Tennessee Titans): 315-of-481 passing attempts (65.5%), 3,819 yards, 33 touchdowns 7 interceptions, 106.5 passer rating; 43 carries, 266 yards, 7 touchdowns.
Although the Titans aren’t dealing with a situation as dire as the Broncos as of now — and it’s still the preseason, at least — they do have a glaring hole behind Tannehill on their QB depth chart.
Logan Woodside and Matt Barkley are the next men up to run Tennessee’s offense. If they were pressed into duty in the regular season, that’d be a serious problem, even with NFL rushing champion Derrick Henry in the backfield to help them out.
With Julio Jones joining A.J. Brown this offseason in one of the biggest NFL trades in recent memory, hopes are high for the Titans to repeat as AFC South champions, and to go deep in the playoffs. Even with Henry being the focal point of the offense, Tannehill absolutely must be healthy for those aspirations to have any chance of being fulfilled.
Click here to see how far we have the Titans going in the postseason in our NFL playoff predictions