The Tennessee Titans had an eventful 2022 NFL Draft. Instead of paying A.J. Brown, they traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles, drafting Treylon Burks as his replacement.
However, the biggest splash the Titans made was by selecting former Liberty quarterback Malik Willis in the third round with the 86th overall pick, giving Ryan Tannehill some competition in Nashville.
In his Tuesday press conference, Tannehill mentioned that the franchise didn't inform him that they would be drafting Willis but understands why the front office decided to do what's best for the team. He also brought up that he called Willis to congratulate him on getting drafted.
“I texted Malik right after we drafted him as well,” Tannehill said. “I have no problems with Malik. We’re looking to add talent and guys that can help us. We’ll add him to the room and go from there.”
Tannehill's comment may sound welcoming of Willis but he assured reporters that he doesn't believe it's his job to mentor the 22-year-old rookie.
“That’s part of being in a quarterback room, in the same room — we’re competing against each other, we’re watching the same tape, we’re doing the same drills,” Tannehill said. “I don’t think it’s my job to mentor him. But if he learns from me along the way, then that’s a great thing.”
While Tannehill is certainly on the hot seat, his comments towards Willis drew some support on Twitter when comparing how other QBs would've handled their team drafting their potential replacement. Others were not so enthusiastic about his remarks.
Tannehill's attitude towards not wanting to mentor Willis is something we've seen time and time again from aging quarterbacks who are nervous about the young hot shot guy chasing their tails.
Brett Favre had zero interest in mentoring Aaron Rodgers when the franchise drafted him late in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. Before the Hall of Famer was shipped off to the big apple to play for the Jets, the relationship between the two of them was all but non-existent.
In 2019, Ben Roethlisberger was "surprised" the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Mason Rudolph in the draft, adding that he wasn't all that interested in mentoring the incoming QB.
And who can forget the time Tom Brady effectively foiled the New England Patriots' plans to give Jimmy Garappolo the keys to the offense. Heck, if we go back to the 80s and 90s, Joe Montana admitted in that his job for Steve Young was to make sure he "stayed behind him" on the 49er's depth chart.
Willis will most certainly be watching most games on the bench in 2022, but come 2023, he may have developed enough to be ready to be thrown to the wolves. Not to mention that 2023 would be the final year of Tannehill's contract.
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Follow Jasper Jones on Twitter: @jonesj2342
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