Ryan Tannehill Rumors: Titans Discussing New Contract for QB to Remain Starter

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly "internally discussing a new contract for Ryan Tannehill after the season," according to ESPN's Dianna Russini.

Per that report, the Titans aren't discussing using the franchise tag to keep him but rather want to ink Tannehill to a "new deal to be the future starting quarterback of Tennessee."

Tannehill, 31, has saved Tennessee's season. Since being named the starter before the team's Oct. 20 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Titans have gone 5-1. The Titans are now 7-5 after a disappointing 2-4 start. 

And the veteran quarterback has been superb, throwing for 1,602 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 72.7 percent of his passes. His passer rating of 113.9 is the best mark in the NFL. 

It's been quite the resurgence for Tannehill, who had his struggles in Miami and made the playoffs just once in his six seasons with the Dolphins. 

It's raised interesting questions about the future of the quarterback position in Tennessee. Marcus Mariota's time in Tennessee appears to be over, and keeping Tannehill and drafting a young player to groom for the future would make sense.

To Tannehill's credit, he's keeping his focus on making a playoff push, as he said this week per Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com:

"For me, it's a head-down process of taking advantage of the week. I've seen how this thing goes, the waves, the ins and outs of the season. So if you start taking a step back at this point, then you're doing a disservice to your teammates and to yourself of opportunities you could take advantage of this week. So, really just trying to lock in on the Oakland Raiders and do everything I can to prepare for them."

The Titans are currently one game behind the Houston Texans in the AFC South and trail the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a tiebreaker for the final wild-card berth. The postseason is within their grasp, in large part due to Tannehill's steady play since taking over as the starter.