Ryan Tannehill deserves better from the Tennessee Titans than this sloppy offseason | Estes

Back in 2019, the Tennessee Titans talked a lot about going from “good to great.” Remember the mantra? The kind you hear when an organization grows tired of going 9-7.

Then they went 9-7 again, and early that season, they weren’t even good. They started 2-4. They benched their franchise quarterback after getting shut out in Denver. Then they got hot and made the AFC title game before winning back-to-back division titles.

From the time Ryan Tannehill took over for Marcus Mariota in 2019 through last season’s Week 11 win in Green Bay, the Titans went 38-18 with Tannehill at quarterback.

He did that with worsening talent around him: A gradually disintegrating offensive line, a perpetually banged-up receiving corps, ever-changing tight ends, a serious injury to running back Derrick Henry in 2021 and the Titans’ trading away one of the NFL’s best receivers in A.J. Brown.

League-wide, Tannehill has never gotten the respect he deserves, so that’s nothing new.

But Tannehill deserves better from the Titans than what this offseason is becoming — the buildup to his clock running out in Nashville.

And you know what? The Titans are going to miss Tannehill when he’s gone.

That’s what I couldn’t help but think as I watched the Titans’ 34-year-old quarterback on Wednesday, calmly and willingly enduring a press conference as if business was usual when it wasn’t. He was sure to be asked about some uncomfortable topics, none of which were of his own making.

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Sure enough, Tannehill was asked about it all. About all the rumors of being traded or released. About the final year of his contract. About the Titans drafting a quarterback on Day 2 (again), this time a move up for heir apparent Will Levis.

About the team not drafting a wide receiver until the seventh round, a highly criticized move that creates a perception, as former Titans receiver-turned-radio-host Derrick Mason said on 102.5 FM following Wednesday’s press conference, “It’s almost like they are setting (Tannehill) up to fail.”

Look, I get it. That’s the NFL. It’s a young man’s league with a short memory and a salary cap that likes cheap rookie deals. Playing for the future isn’t a bad strategy.

But this has been sloppy, this weird Titans offseason of rumors, innuendo and wavering direction.

New general manager Ran Carthon has had opportunities to squelch much of the talk, and he largely hasn’t, at least not with Tannehill, who has done nothing to lose his job other than get older and make a lot of money.

I asked Tannehill if a private conversation with Carthon settled him about what was ahead. I also asked if he was confident the Titans were still all-in on contending rather than rebuilding.

He didn’t answer yes to either question.

“I don't know,” he said to the first. “Those conversations can be thought of in a lot of different ways. But at the end of the day, I have an opportunity in front of me to go out and play football, and that's what I'm here to do.”

And the second: “Our job is to go win games, right? I don’t think that ever changes.”

He wasn’t being evasive. He was detached. There’s a difference. He kept stressing that he was doing his job, and his job isn’t Carthon or Mike Vrabel’s job. Which on both counts is true.

Tannehill isn’t sulking. He’s working. He’s meeting with coaches and teammates. He has been quite present at the facility and at workouts. “He’s our leader,” tight end Chig Okonkwo said, and good leaders don’t publicly criticize the organization. Tannehill never has. Even if he wanted to do it.

The closest he got Wednesday was when he was asked about the lack of receiving help in the draft.

“They don't ask me my thoughts on draft picks,” Tannehill said. “Mike and Ran make those decisions. Obviously, I knew it was an area that could be addressed. They did just a little bit probably later than I thought it was going to (be).”

Hey, me too, Ryan.

Didn’t need a quarterback necessarily in the second round. Gave up next season’s third-rounder to get one. Definitely didn’t need a running back in the third round. Took one over a receiver anyway. Didn’t do much at receiver in free agency, either.

The Titans have been busy chasing his replacement in Levis. If the Titans are lucky, Levis will accomplish close to what Tannehill has in the NFL. Most quarterbacks don’t.

"My job is to get ready to go win football games,” Tannehill said.

No reason to think Tannehill won’t.

He’s been doing it since he got here.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans' Ryan Tannehill deserves better than sloppy offseason