Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tannehill WON'T Mentor Malik Willis and Undrafted Free Agents!!

Episode Date: May 4, 2022

Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill finally spoke with the media for the first time since the Titans gut-punching loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Tannehill talked about the playoff loss, the AJ Brown trade and Treylon Burks, but he also gave a very interesting answer about rookie QB Malik Willis. Tyler thinks Tannehill has this all wrong.Also, the Titans work after the NFL Draft was not finished with the seven round. Undrafted Free Agency can proved to be huge and the Titans added quite a few players. Who are and can they have a role?Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileThis Mother’s Day give mom something she’ll treasure forever with fine jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKEDON SPORTS listeners get $50 off $500. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And on today's show, Ryan Tannehill, Titans starting quarterback, made his first comments since the playoff loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. And boy, did he have a lot to talk about, including the headline maker where he said he would not be mentoring Malik Willis. I'm going to tell you why I think Ryan Tannehill is wrong on that fact.

And also, the draft process does not end after the seven rounds conclude. No, there's undrafted free agency. Who have the Titans picked up in undrafted free agency? And who could potentially carve out a role on the 2022 Tennessee Titans. Tannehill's comments on Malik Willis and undrafted free agency on a Wednesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Titans fans, it is a Wednesday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast and it is presented by BlueNile.com. This Mother's Day, give mom something she'll treasure forever with fine jewelry from BlueNile.com. And Locked On listeners, get $50 off 500 when you use code LOCKEDON at checkout. Thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen

to the Locked On Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. I am going to be putting out daily, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content here on the Locked On Titans podcast. It's going to be free and available on all platforms.

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at Tic Tac Titans. I'm always saying something about what's going on throughout the day. The show can be found on Facebook at Locked on Titans Pod. With all that being said, we got to dive into Ryan Tannehill's first comments since the playoff loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ryan Tannehill has been MIA, whether that be at Titans organized team activities, whether that be talking in the media, either way. And to be honest, there's no obligation for him to come out and make comments. But you have to say it was a little strange for the quarterback in the face of the franchise

to not give any comments whatsoever in the end of season locker room clean out day. I mean, it's just so weird that Tannehill didn't make any comments there. Obviously a little distraught, but he spoke today. And boy, did he have some things to say. So number one, we got to get into his comments on Malik Willis. That's obviously the biggest news of the day by far. So let's dive in there. And the headline essentially is, quote, from Ryan Tannehill, quote,

I don't think it's my job to mentor him. And he's talking about Malik Willis. So Ryan Tannehill has come out and said it's not his job to mentor Malik. And I get what he's saying. Now, what I want to do is I want to make sure that we get the entire quote in here just so people don't think it's taken out of context.

Ryan Tannehill said, I don't think it's my job to mentor Malik. Let me get this exactly right, because I know you guys are going to freak. He says, it's not my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way, then that's a great thing. I gotta dive in here, and I know a lot of you guys are not gonna like this opinion,

and that is what it is, but I'm gonna keep it honest with you. This is awful leadership from Ryan Tannehill. There's no way around it. And this is my general philosophy on anything, okay? This is my general philosophy. Give's no way around it. And this is my general philosophy on anything. Okay. This is my general philosophy. Give back, pay it forward. One time when Ryan Tannehill was a young guy, there were multiple people who took him under his wing and showed him the right ways to do things.

That is our job. Look, this is bigger than football guys. This is bigger than the football team. Okay. This isn't just about, Hey, this guy wants to take my job. I'm not helping him. That's selfish. That's short-sighted. It's bigger than that. This is my general philosophy with life. Pay it forward. Teach the young ones. Teach the next generation. Share the knowledge. Share the wisdom.

Grow them because the sport of football has given Ryan Tannehill everything that he has. The sport of football made him a Tannehill everything that he has. The sport of football made him a millionaire. Made him famous. Give back to the sport of football by giving back

to the young generation. And one thing, my starting quarterback of my team, who's 34 years old and has been a veteran for over a decade, if you give Malik Willis guidance, you're scared he's going to take your job if you mentor him. See, this is stuff.

Favre has said things like this. Joe Flacco has said things like this. Yeah, Tom Brady has said things like this. Just because a bunch of people have said the wrong thing doesn't make Tannehill right. At the end of the day, yes, it is Tannehill's job to not only mentor Malik Willis

but to mentor every single person on the team this is your star quarterback this is the highest paid cap hit quarterback in the league you're dang right I want you to mentor the young guys I am paying you $38 million on the cap yes it is your job as the leader of the entire team. We're not talking about a third string linebacker.

We're not talking about, what if Robert Woods came out and said, it's not my job to mentor Traylon Burks. It's not my job to point out to him certain things about route running. It's not my job to do that. But if he learns from me just de facto, then great. Then great. No, Ryan Tannehill, it is in fact

your job to not only play quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, play well, and win football games as the highest paid quarterback in the NFL right now on cap hit. Yes, it is your job to lead and mentor every single player on the team. An offensive lineman

jumps the snap count. Mentor him. Lead him. A wide receiver runs the wrong route, is at the wrong depth. Lead him. Mentor him. He's not your position. There is not an answer in any circumstance where I would say it's not my job to help the young guy. Now, do I think that Ryan Tannehill is going to shun him and Ryan Tannehill is going to be petty and treat him poorly? No.

But this is proof that Ryan Tannehill is not going to go out of his way to help a young rookie accommodate the NFL. I mean, I'm sorry. You know, I know a lot of people disagree with me on Twitter, and I'm sure a lot of you guys disagree with me right now, and that's fine. But it's my opinion, not only in football, but in life,

that you give back. You pay it forward. You give the education and the wisdom to the youth, because they are the future. And I just want to say this. Ryan Tannehill. A.J. Brown said that Marcus Mariota was the best leader he's ever been around. Not Ryan Tannehill.

And I know that a lot of you guys think that's clickbait conversation. But maybe A.J. was on to something. Because I'm sorry. Taking this route of saying, I'm not going to mentor the young guy. I don't care what quarterback. I don't care what position you play. I don't care what job you're in.

The NFL, economics, IT. If you have such little confidence that you think by helping out a young guy in your profession is going to get your job taken, then you're not the guy I want to lead my team anyway. And let me say this. Ryan Tannehill may not be with the Tennessee Titans after 2022, maybe after 2023.

Either way, he's not going to finish his career in Tennessee. Don't you think that the next team that signs Ryan Tannehill or trades for him or wants him to be their quarterback when he's 36 37 years old don't you think that they're going to expect him to be a bridge quarterback

who mentors a young quarterback this attitude of I'm not helping the young guy yeah he could learn from me but it's not my job how do you think that other teams who are going to want to sign Ryan Tannehill as a late 30 year old quarterback when he says no it's not my job. How do you think that other teams who are going to want to sign Ryan Tannehill as a late 30-year-old quarterback, when he says,

no, it's not my job to help a young quarterback. Literally, your job for the rest of your time, while you're in the NFL, is to win football games and play your best, but to also mentor a young guy. That is where you're at in your career, Ryan Tannehill. That's exactly what you are supposed to be doing. With Ryan Tannehill's comments right here, with A.J. Brown and Jeffrey Simmons expressing their displeasure

with the A.J. Brown trade, I got to be honest with you guys. I am a little bit worried about the vibes in the locker room right now. I'm a little worried about it. I don't know that it'll impact the season and wins and losses. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying the vibes around the locker room right now don't feel great. And I'm very disappointed that Ryan Tannehill decided to take it's not my job route

instead of, yeah, my job is to be the starting quarterback and lead this football team. Malik Willis is a member of this football team, a young rookie, and it is my job to lead and mentor not only Malik, but every single player on this team because I am the quarterback. Yes, that is part of the quarterback's job description, in my opinion. Take it or leave it.

I know some of you guys aren't going to like it, but that's how I feel. We're going to move forward here. Ryan Tannehill said a lot more, so we're going to talk about that. He talked about Traylon Burks being added to the team. He talked about A.J. Brown being traded. He talked about that Bengals game. He talked about not showing up to OTAs. And there's a lot to discuss.

I wanted to hit this topic hard. Ryan Tannehill not willing to mentor Malik Willis. I don't think it's as bad as it sounds. But even the exact quote doesn't satisfy me. And I'm pretty disappointed with Ryan Tannehill's answer. Before we move on for the rest of the show, I do want to tell you guys more about our title sponsor, BlueNile.com. Mother's Day is this weekend, guys, and there is no better way to show mom that you care than with fine jewelry

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Titans fans, we are going to continue this Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're talking Ryan Tannehill's first discussion with the media since the playoff loss against the Bengals. I just hated that Malik Willis quote, guys. I mean, I know, Brandon, Ryan Tannehill said that he's not going to mentor Malik Willett. And just to rehash what I just said for you guys just jumping in, I think it's garbage. Not only a quarterback, but a garbage man, a teacher, IT professional, sales professional.

It is our duty as citizens of the earth. It is our duty to pay that wisdom and pay that knowledge forward to the youth. You add in the fact that Ryan Tannehill

is the quarterback of the team which is a heightened level of mentorship and leadership for not only QBs but all positions and then you add in

that he's the highest paid quarterback per cap hit in the NFL. Yes, it's your job to play well. Yes, it's your job to win games. Yes, it's your job to lead and mentor everybody. And every year for the rest of Ryan Tannehill's career, he is going to be considered a bridge quarterback

that needs to mentor a young guy. It's insanity that he said that and that people are defending him. I can't believe it. But that's not that he said that and that people are defending him. I can't believe it. But that's not all he said. And my idea here is not just to completely crush Ryan Tannehill on everything he had to say because some of the things that he said,

I completely agree with and I understand exactly where he's coming from. So let's get into some of that. We got to talk about what he said about Traylon Burks. So he did say that he reached out to Burks the night of the draft. He didn't hear back from him. So he called

him on Saturday and had a good conversation. Guys, I know I got the temp oil hat out on this one, but he had to throw in that didn't hear back from him. He had to throw that in. Yeah, I reached out to him first on the night of the draft. He didn't get back to me.

So I had to call him the next day to get in touch with him. If you watch the press conference, man, you could just feel the vibes. You could just feel the vibes. I mean, there's no way around it. With the Malik comment, with that comment. But in Tannehill's defense, you traded away my star

receiver, and you drafted my backup. I get it. I get it, Ryan. I do, but again, what he had to say about the trade of A.J. Brown after the Burks comment that I thought was just awkward, he did talk about A.J.

Brown, and boy, just go back and watch the press conference just awkward. He did talk about A.J. Brown, and boy, just go back and watch the press conference, guys. He was, he's mad about it. He is. There's no way around it. Going into his comments, this is what Tannehill had to say. Quote, I was shocked. When I first found out, I'm like, this isn't real.

This isn't happening. It's a rumor. And then I talked to A.J. I found out it was real. I slept terrible that night. Kept thinking it was just a bad dream. But that's where we're at. I mean,

the locker room is absolutely furious that they traded AJ Brown. There's just no way around it. There's no way around it. So, hold on. I got to respond to this. I don't know why this is surprising. Willis is a threat to his job,

so he's going to try and play better. Willis naturally learns by being there from the coaches. No, that's not good enough. That's not good enough. That's like, it would literally be like you're a manager on a shift for a construction company and they hire a new guy who has manager potential and you say he made a mistake on the job site. I'm not going to correct it. I'm going to wait for the other general manager to come in

and correct it even though I'm his direct supervisor. Like, what are we doing here? Tannehill is so scared of the 86th pick in the draft who nobody is suspecting to start year one anyway that he can't help the guy out? When you're paying him $38 million? Yeah, we're paying you $38 million on the cap hit? You're damn right. It's your job to mentor every young player

that's on this team. Yeah, you're the quarterback of an NFL football team. Yeah, that is your job. It's part of your job description. And he's supposed to be a leader on the team. That's what leaders do. Leaders not only lead and provide direction but they empower

and educate their subordinates leadership is about building up the people underneath you while also charting the correct path that is what leadership is if Tannehill is so scared of Malik Willis that he's scared to mentor him then this guy doesn't have the confidence that we want anyways.

I mean, there's no way around this. Basically, you would have to be just a Stanahill. You'd have to be a Stanahill to defend Tannehill in this situation. Exactly. If Tannehill is going to be looking for a new team in 2023, which you're right, and every year after that in his career, he's going to be looking for a new team,

and he's going to be a bridge quarterback. He's a Ryan Fitzpatrick. He's a Matt Ryan right now for the Colts. He was a Phillip Rivers for the Colts. He is an Andy Dalton for the Bears. You're a bridge quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, so part of your job description every year for the rest of your life will be to play good football and to mentor the young guy.

That's literally what every team is going to ask you to do going forward. Moving forward, though, the last little quotes that I want to get into is what Tannehill had to say about that Bengals game. So he really got deep and this is what he said. Quote, it's a scar. It's a deep scar. It was a lot of sleepless nights. Every time I closed my eyes, I was re-watching the game in my head. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep for weeks and weeks after the game.

I was in a dark place. It took me a while and a lot of work to get out weeks after the game. I was in a dark place. It took me a while and a lot of work to get out of it. It wasn't something that went away easily. It's still a scar that I will carry with me through the rest of my life, just like a cut on your arm. It starts off as a wound. You're able to heal from it, and it turns into a scar. It never leaves you, but it's always there, and it can remind you.

Now it's fuel for me. It's fuel for me to work and get ready with a passion and coming into the season with a fire and a desire to win like I never have before. And Tannehill even talked about people not having confidence in him. He said, I have the utmost confidence in myself and have everything it takes. I will come this year with a fire and a passion. I have to play my best football in January. Nothing wrong with those quotes, guys. Nothing wrong with those quotes at all.

Tannehill's right. It should have scarred him. It should have been terrible. And in here, he even talked about the fact that he's been going to therapy, but the therapy was really necessary after that loss. I get it. And I will criticize Ryan Tannehill as I've done for the last 20 minutes.

But right now, that comment? No. No. Nothing wrong with that. You know, I agree with Tannehill. It was tough on everybody. Obviously, super tough on him. And all I can say is it was terrible.

It was a scar. It was a wound. It was tough to deal with. Sleepless nights. And I got to come back and be even better. I agree with you. Also, he said he wasn't at OTAs because he knows what's best for him. As I said at the time, I didn't have a big deal with Tannehill not being OTAs.

So I don't care that he wasn't there for the first couple of weeks. A team activities. He's a veteran. He'll be fine. But either way, some interesting quotes from Ryan Tannehill all throughout today's press conference. The Malik Willis stuff, really disappointing. The Traylon Burks, I

get. A.J. Brown stuff, not surprised at all. It's kind of a window into the locker room, in my opinion. The Bengals game, I thought his comments were right on. OTAs, I'm with Tannehill. So, a little bit of good, a little bit of bad. I agree with him. I don't agree with him in the way that he approaches things, but either way, finally heard from Tannehill, so a little bit of good, a little bit of bad. I agree with him. I don't agree with him in the way that he approaches things, but either way, finally heard from Tannehill,

and that's the news on that. So that's the coverage of Ryan Tannehill's press conference. Now I want to talk about the undrafted free agents that the Titans have signed since the draft ended on Saturday. Before we get into all of that, though, do want to tell you guys about BuiltBar.com, the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy. You get the best of that though, do want to tell you guys about BuiltBar.com, the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy. You get the best of both worlds

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B-U-I-L-T.com. Use the promo code LOCKED15. You're going to get 15% off your first order. Once again, that's LOCKED15 for 15% off at built.com. All right, guys. We are going to cancel this Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Breaking down the Titans' undrafted three-agent ball. The draft process does not end with the seven rounds.

No, undrafted three-agent is going to be a big deal for the Titans. Think about Isaiah Mack. Think about Naquan Jones. Think about Pierre Tartt, Nick Westbrook. Think about T.R. Tartt. Nick Westbrook. Very, very solid role players for the Titans in the last few years. Let's dive into the hall. And I already see Kevin Hoffman free in the movement here.

Reggie Robertson. Yeah, absolutely ready for Reggie Robertson. I think he's one of the best undrafted free agents on this ball. Diving in, some of the defensive linemen here. Undrafted free agents. Number one, defensive tackle, Jaden Peavy, out of Texas A&M. 6'5", 308 pounds. Guys, he's undisciplined.

He needs a ton of work with technique. But this guy is huge at 6'5", 308 pounds, and he's a quick athlete with great length. So basically, you're looking at all the athletic tools that you could want in a player, but with a lack of discipline, and I don't mean like he's causing problems out on the field and everything.

I'm talking about hand discipline, gap discipline, staying in the right place, knowing what you're supposed to do on the play, but a ton of athletic traits for Jaden Peavy. And the Titans have hit on undrafted free agent interior defensive linemen multiple times over the last few years. Again, Isaiah Mack, Tiar Tart, Naquan Jones.

So I got faith that Jaden Peavy could come in and carve out a role. Also, Haskell Garrett from Ohio State. Six foot2", a little bit of an undersized guy. He's a gap shooter, needs to add some strength, but really like Haskell Garrett, I think he could, again, interior defensive linemen have shown that they can find a way to get a roster spot on the Tennessee Titans. Next, you have defensive linemen is what I'll call them because he can play a little edge, he can play a little edge. He can play a little inside. It's Sam Okuwano.

He's from Maryland, 6'1", 270 pounds, plays with great effort, got great power in his hands. No, he doesn't have huge athletic traits. But with that kind of effort, that kind of size, and that kind of power, I think a lot of good things could come from it. Obviously, these are all long shots for the roster, though, guys. You gotta keep that in mind. A pure

edge here. We have David Anini from Houston. 6'2", 245 pounds. Incredibly quick. He's got long arms. He's gonna be a pure edge rusher for the Titans. I think that he has a chance to carve out a role because the reality here is the Titans didn't really

go after edge in the draft. They didn't add any edges. So if the Titans wanted to have a young edge on the roster, I think a guy like a Nini could find a way to make a play again. Long odds here for these undrafted free agents, but at places where the Titans didn't really add

a lot in the draft, interior D line, edge, interior offensive line. There are guys who have the ability to carve out roles. Moving forward here, some guys on the offensive side of the ball at interior offensive line. You have Andrew Ripsich from Culver Stockton. He's actually from the NAIA level of college football. He's 6'6", 318 pounds.

What about guard? That's what we're talking about. Andrew Ripsich, interior offensive lineman. He's got great size, obviously. 6'6", 318 pounds is an interior offensive lineman. He's got really strong hands, really good at controlling guys when he gets his hands on them, but doesn't play with great technique,

needs to improve with his balance, all things that needs to be coached up. Another interior offensive lineman is Hayden Howerton. He's from SMU, 6'3", 300 pounds, so a smaller guy than Ripsich, but he may be smaller, but he's smart, he's tough, he's athletic, a guy who could maybe carve out a role on the Titans.

Linebacker Jack Gibbons from Minnesota, 6'3", 242 pounds. Just a smart, physical, tough guy who's probably going to try to make a way on special teams. Trey Swilling, the cornerback out of Georgia Tech. 6'2", 15. Same. He's a guy who doesn't have huge athletic traits.

Doesn't have great length, but could carve out a role on special teams. Running back Julius Chestnut out of Sacred Heart. 5'11", 228 pounds. Another guy's going to try to carve out a role in special teams with returnability. But finally, I want to talk about the undrafted free agent that gets me most excited. And it's Reggie Roberson Jr. from SMU. A pure speed guy, deep threat, linear speed, good hands.

Would have been drafted and been drafted a lot higher too but he's had some major injury concerns. He had a foot injury then he had an ACL injury back-to-back years the end of the season and last year

he just simply didn't look the same after all the injuries. If he can get back to his pre-injury form then I think there's a chance that Reggie Roberson could be a roster guy for the Titans as their designated

deep threat speed receiver. He could come in in a Kalief Raymond role, potentially, even though he's bigger than Kalief Raymond. He could have that role early on. So I like Roberson a lot.

And then finally, the last guy I'm going to mention here is Caleb Shudick, the kicker out of Iowa. 36 for 37 on extra points his senior year, Iowa. 24 for 28 on field goals. That's his career stats at Iowa. The majority of that coming in the 14 games in his senior year.

Yeah, Randy Bullock did a good job last year, guys. No way around it. So I'm still leaning there. But if there is any position, if there's any position that could potentially find a roster spot on the Titans with a good performance in training camp, it's the kicker.

Because kicker is all about momentum and confidence. And Caleb Shudick has a chance. So the guys who really stand out to me, I really like Jaden Peavy and Haskell Garrett at the interior defensive line spots. I really like Andrew Ripsich as a project guy,

as an interior offensive lineman out of the NAIA division. And I also really like Reggie Roberson Jr. out of SMU as a deep threat speed option guy. Those are probably the names that stick out to me most. But that is Ryan Tannehill's comments. That is him talking about Malik Willis and not mentoring him.

And I obviously had quite a lot to say about that. The undrafted free agents. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. Make sure you guys subscribe on whatever platform you do stream tomorrow. I'm going to have an in-depth breakdown with some college hosts of the Locked On Podcast Network, breaking down the prospects that the Titans drafted from the college level. So really excited for that. Is Sam Nashville hot, thick, and still a Titan?

Right now, he's still on the roster. So we'll see the battle happen in training camp. That'll be fun. But that's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you