NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Quarterback Ryan Tannehill found himself in a familiar situation after the Tennessee Titans traded up in the second round of the NFL draft to select Will Levis with the 33rd overall pick.
“Yeah, we’ve been down this road before so it’s definitely a little bit of déjà vu,” Tannehill said.
The Titans have now traded up to select quarterbacks in back-to-back drafts. Former general manager Jon Robinson traded with the Las Vegas Raiders to move up and snag Malik Willis in the third round with the 86th pick of last year’s draft.
The Levis selection was made possible when new Titans general manager Ran Carthon sent picks Nos. 41 and 72 and a 2024 third-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for the 33rd pick and the 81st pick.
The 34-year-old Tannehill completed 212 of his 325 pass attempts for 2,536 yards, 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 12 games last season. He has a $36 million cap hit this year and two voidable years remaining on his contract.
It would be understandable for Tannehill to be bitter after seeing a possible future replacement being selected two years in a row. The veteran quarterback, however, has been with the team since the start of OTAs and is taking it all in stride.
“My job is to get ready to go win football games and that’s what I’m going to do each and every day,” Tannehill said. “As players, you got to control what you can control — and that’s doing the best you can.”