Titans QB Ryan Tannehill reacts to losing starting job to Will Levis

Tennessee Titans veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill acknowledged Wednesday that losing the starting job to rookie Will Levis is difficult. 

"It is hard," Tannehill said, per Jim Wyatt of the Titans website. "I have never been in this situation before. So, it hits hard, and it's never a situation that anyone wants to be in. But it's the situation that I'm in, and I have to walk through it." 

Tannehill generated headlines in the spring of 2022 when he said he was "competing against" then-rookie Malik Willis. Those two later poured cold water over talk regarding any supposed issues between them, and Tannehill sounded ready on Wednesday to serve as Levis' mentor through at least Week 18. 

"(Will) has done some good things obviously," Tannehill added. "He came in and played well … and I'm going to be here to answer any questions he might have and help him out along the way."

Levis went 1-1 as a starter when Tannehill was sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered in Week 6 ahead of Tennessee's bye. Across those two contests, Levis completed 41-of-68 passes for 500 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. All four of those scores occurred in a 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 29. 

Head coach Mike Vrabel officially announced Levis as the starter on Tuesday.

"Yesterday at practice, doing a good job of stepping in and letting me know that the reps, even in the beginning of practice with the 1s, [were mine]." Levis said about Tannehill, according to Turron Davenport of ESPN. "I didn't want to step over him, but he came to me first to be like, 'Hey, this is you.' So it was cool to hear that."

Tannehill turned 35 years old this past summer and is in the final months of his contract as the Titans sit at 3-5. Unless Levis suffers an injury or unexpectedly looks completely lost by the regular-season finale, Tannehill likely has taken his final meaningful snap with the organization and, maybe, as a starting QB in the NFL.