Why Doesn't Ryan Tannehill Have a Job?

It's sort of weird, right?

As we near the start of the 2024-25 NFL season, a question has emerged that I’m sure is on EVERYONE’S mind. Why is Ryan Tannehill unemployed?

OK, probably nobody is really wondering this or asking this out loud. Maybe it’s just me. But, I think it speaks to what a wild and perhaps underappreciated career he’s had that so few people are asking this.

Tannehill, of course, was a top-10 pick of the Miami Dolphins after playing wide receiver for two years in college before transitioning to quarterback. His time in Miami was … not great. The team was under .500 in the games he started in the six years he was a Dolphin.

That included, however, getting a second contract before the team decided to go in another way, preferring instead (checks notes, rechecks notes, triple checks) 37-year old Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Fins shipped Tannehill to the Titans in which they basically gave him away. The Titans received Tannehill and a sixth round pick for a third and seventh round pick, which for folks who don’t follow the NFL is fairly free.

Tannehill then started 63 games over the next five seasons, including leading them to the playoffs in three straight seasons, which included both a Pro Bowl season and a 33 TD season (not the same one, oddly). I don’t think at any time during his career did anyone consider Tannehill a top QB, but he was very capable and obviously pretty good at playing the most important position in sports.

Last year, the Titans drafted Will Levis as their quarterback of the future, and phased Tannehill out, who became a free agent at the end of the season.

Tannehill made way for the talented if odd Will Levis, aka Billy Jeans.

As such, Tannehill sits with a career QB record (that is, the record of his teams in games he started at QB) of 81-70, throwing 216 TDs with 115 INT, and rushing in 27 TD as well (and 2103 yards!). This is, indisputably, a good career. In fact, his 10-year comparisons are Carson Palmer, Drew Bledsoe, Jim Everett, Jay Cutler, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Troy Aikman and Bob Griese. A few of them are Hall of Famers and others might get in shortly, but however you slice it those guys are not chumps. While stats vary through periods it’s safe to say Tannehill was very competent.

So why then, he doesn’t seem to have really talked with anyone about signing with them to extend his career. He’s 35 years old, which certainly puts him on the older side but there are plenty of guys his age or older (Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and others) poised to start for other teams this year. It’s more likely that he’d be a backup, perhaps to a young starter – like, for instance, Will Levis? But, no. Crickets.

First, the reality is that there aren’t THAT many teams in the right position to sign Tannehill. I can think of a few – Las Vegas to start, Carolina or Denver to maybe backup their young starters. There could be others, but its a short list. (The New York Giants, for instance, would for sure be better – but they have a huge contract with Daniel Jones that makes it almost impossible to bench him for this season. In that regard, there’s not a lot of evidence that Tannehill wants to be a backup. And that’s for one very good reason.

If I asked you how much Tannehill had earned as an NFL player in his career, what would your guess be? I’m not quite sure what mine would be, but it certainly wouldn’t be $195,975,979 – though that is the actual amount.  What a world! He’s earned almost $200MM in salary and nobody ever thought he was ever THAT good. Undoubtedly, he padded that with endorsements as well. And despite missing an entire season with the Dolphins with a torn ACL, he made it through his career without too many serious injuries. I do not share the same competitive spirit as a professional athlete, but to me, it’s a no-brainer that he should just sit at home with his lovely family and dive into what I assume is a Scrooge McDuck vault full of gold coins and other treasures.

One might argue that if a team like the Raiders – who inexplicably gave Gardner Minshew $25,000,000 this offseason – wanted to win, they’d pick up the phone and call Tannehill. It’s likely that instead they are looking to next years draft instead. At least that’s what the evidence suggests.

Good on Tannehill for not chasing the dream unnecessarily, and perhaps deciding to just enjoy life. Of course, when or if a team loses their QB for the season, his phone might just start to ring. And when it does, we should remember that Tannehill was a pretty darn good quarterback.