Titans QB Ryan Tannehill will likely miss rest of season

Tannehill suffered a right ankle injury during Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. 

While the veteran QB only missed one series, he dealt with significant pain after returning to the game. 

Tannehill suffered an injury to the same ankle earlier this season, forcing him to miss a pair of games.

We heard Tuesday that Tannehill was facing an uphill battle to play in Week 16, and as Kuharsky notes, offensive coordinator Todd Downing spoke as if third-round rookie Malik Willis will start against the Texans. 

Coach Mike Vrabel also gave the young signal-caller a vote of confidence this week.

“I’ve seen a lot of maturity and growth, seen the way that his reps are coming in our show team and trying to get him to act like the starting quarterback and lead that unit and communicate our language, the call that’s on the card, the operation, the snap count, the cadence, whether we go on the ball the next play,” Vrabel said (via Nick Suss of the Nashville Tennessean). “All those looks that we try to give him, I’ve seen a lot of maturity and growth in that regard.”

Willis didn’t look completely hopeless during his two starts, although the coaching staff limited him to only 26 pass attempts between the two games. 

With Derrick Henry in the backfield, the Titans should have enough to get past the Titans in Week 16.

The Titans would surely prefer their veteran QB under center against the Cowboys and Jaguars, but it’s not like he was doing a whole lot to help their playoff chances. 

While Tennessee currently sits atop the AFC South, they’ve dropped four straight, with Tannehill throwing three touchdowns vs. two interceptions over that stretch.