Ranking the Potential Landing Spots for Ryan Tannehill in 2020 NFL Free Agency

They say that timing is everything.

Ryan Tannehill's is both terrific and awful.

After seven up-and-down years in Miami, Tannehill was traded to the Tennessee Titans. He opened the season backing up Marcus Mariota, but after taking the reins as the starter in Week 7, Tannehill peeled off the best run of his career—seven wins in 10 starts, a plus-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a passer rating of 117.5.

Then Tannehill and the Titans did the unthinkable, knocking off the New England Patriots and then the Baltimore Ravens in the postseason to make the AFC Championship game.

It was a remarkable resurgence—one that netted Tannehill Comeback Player of the Year honors and gave him all kinds of momentum entering free agency.

The problem is that Tannehill's hardly alone. The quarterback market in 2020 could be unprecedented—including the most successful signal-caller in league history, an eight-time Pro Bowler, last year's passing yardage leader and at least two other former first-round picks with significant starting experience.

There should be no shortage of suitors for Tannehill—including the team he enjoyed so much success with in 2019. But what landing spots make the most sense for both player and team? Is it staying put? Replacing a legend? Taking a trip south? How about west?

Here's a look at the top potential destinations in free agency for Tannehill, from a dark-horse contender to the most likely landing spot.

5. Los Angeles Chargers

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The Los Angeles Chargers are unique in that we know with absolute certainty they will be making a change under center in 2020. That became clear when general manager Tom Telesco announced a few weeks ago the team was moving forward without Philip Rivers.

"After stepping back a bit from last season, we reconnected with Philip and his representatives to look at how 2019 played out, assess our future goals, evaluate the current state of the roster and see if there was a path forward that made sense for both parties," Telesco said, via the team's website. "As we talked through various scenarios, it became apparent that it would be best for Philip and the Chargers to turn the page on what has truly been a remarkable run."

With Los Angeles in possession of the sixth overall pick in the 2020 draft, the team has been connected to a number of this year's top quarterbacks, whether it's Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon's Justin Herbert or Utah State's Jordan Love.

However, Tagovailoa is rehabbing a dislocated hip, Love is athletically talented but raw as a prospect, and while Herbert is likely the most pro-ready of the trio, he's not exactly a plug-and-play passer either.

That's where Tannehill comes in—as a bridge starter at the position who could keep the Chargers competitive while a youngster hones his craft behind him.

However, the likelihood that Los Angeles will draft a quarterback early is also why the Chargers check in a distant fifth here—coming off a career season, unless the market for his services is much softer than expected, Tannehill may not be especially interested in a job that comes with a baked-in expiration date.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are at a crossroads as a franchise. Jameis Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards in 2019. But he also led the league with 30 interceptions, and as Rick Stroud reported for the Tampa Bay Times, head coach Bruce Arians made it clear that retaining edge-rusher Shaq Barrett is a higher priority for the team than bringing back Winston.

"Yes. One is the sack leader. They're hard to find and I know he wants to be in this defense," Arians said. "The other is an unknown quantity to me still. Five thousand yards and (33) touchdowns is awesome. Thirty interceptions ... can we win with Jameis? Hell yeah. There's no doubt. As a head coach you have to decide 'is there a better option?'"

That Arians was non-committal about Winston is telling, as the Buccaneers aren't in any sort of a pinch financially—Tampa's got upward of $80 million in cap space, according to Over the Cap. That war chest puts the Buccaneers in play for many of the big names on the quarterback market this year, and after he moved his family to Florida, some pundits pointed to Philip Rivers as a potential fit.

However, as Tyler Sullivan wrote for CBS Sports, bringing in Tannehill would likely put a smaller dent in Tampa's checkbook—while giving the team a much less error-prone leader on offense.

"The Bucs would be getting an extremely efficient quarterback that -- unlike Winston -- would keep the turnovers to a minimum," he said. "Tannehill likely won't cost as much as some other elite quarterbacks, so the Bucs could, in theory, not only bring him aboard, but put even more talent around him."

There are already no shortage of passing-game weapons in Tampa. The team just needs someone who can get the ball to them without turning the rock over twice per game.

3. Indianapolis Colts

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This has the potential to be a real kick in the junk for the Titans—to not only watch Tannehill leave in free agency, but have him join one of Tennessee's biggest rivals.

However, it's a genuine possibility—for a few reasons.

The first is Indy's unsettled situation at quarterback. Jacoby Brissett's second-half swoon can't be blamed entirely on the 30-year-old—he was without top wideout T.Y. Hilton for much of the second half of the 2019 campaign. Colts OC Nick Sirianni also told Colts Wire that he thinks Brissett will improve with experience.

"He always knew where to go with the football, and then we just speed that up a little bit. 'Yes, you knew where to go with the football; let's get there just a little bit quicker, just a little bit quicker, just a little bit quicker,'" Sirianni said. "And that comes with experience, and that comes with playing time."

However, the NFL is a results-driven business. And the results with Brissett last year point to an average quarterback—at best.

The Colts are well-positioned to make improvements at the game's most important position. Indy's sitting on over $86 million in salary cap space, per Over the Cap. Only the Miami Dolphins have more. Given that massive war chest, the Colts have been linked to just about every big name under center who is about to hit the market—Tannehill included.

Yes, Tannehill doesn't have the sizzle of a Tom Brady or Philip Rivers. But he has a lot more starting experience than Teddy Bridgewater and turns the ball over a lot less than Jameis Winston.

The Colts missed the postseason in 2019, but the team has more than a little to offer Tannehill, whether it's a standout receiver in Hilton, a talented young back in Marlon Mack or one of the NFL's best offensive lines.

2. New England Patriots

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Of course, this landing spot for Ryan Tannehill only makes sense if the largest domino in this year's free agent market at quarterback lands somewhere other than New England. But as ESPN's Adam Schefter told Mad Dog Radio's Adam Schein, there's growing belief that Tom Brady's time in New England could be over.

"Free agency starts in less than two weeks," Schefter said, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. "Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are no closer to a contract agreement today than they were at any point during the season or any point recently. If the greatest quarterback and arguably the greatest player in NFL history is not any closer to a contract agreement with the team he's played for for 20 years, I think we can all sense what way this is tracking."

If Brady does leave, the Westgate Sports Book has installed the Titans as his most likely landing spot. Should that happen, we'll know two things with certainty—the Patriots will be in the market for a new quarterback, and the Titans will most assuredly not be in the market for their old one.

The Patriots could offer Tannehill a chance to make another postseason run in 2020—even with a pu-pu platter at wide receiver outside Julian Edelman, the Pats won 12 games and an 11th straight AFC East title. Assuming an upgrade or two at wideout is made this offseason, the Pats with Tannehill would be very much in the mix for a 12th in a row.

Conversely, Tannehill would offer New England a chance to stay atop the division it has owned for the past decade-plus. And at just 31 years of age, he could keep it there for a while.

1. Tennessee Titans

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The idea of Ryan Tannehill staying with the Tennessee Titans might not generate the sort of intrigue that the notion of him playing in New England or Indianapolis does, but it makes the most sense of any landing spot on this list.

Tannehill is coming off easily the best season of his career. He completed over 70 percent of his passes, threw 22 touchdown passes against just six interceptions and led all qualifying quarterbacks in passer rating.

And he did all that in Tennessee—where he led the Titans to within a game of the franchise's second Super Bowl appearance.

Per Mike Moraitis of Titans Wire, Tannehill made it clear that he'd prefer to return to Nashville in 2020.

"I like what we started there last year, the guys around the team, and I'd like to be back," Tannehill told SiriusXM NFL Radio. "We'll see what happens, obviously getting down to the last couple of weeks here. ... A lot of conversations got to go on back and forth to kind of figure out where we're at."

There's been more than a little speculation that the Titans could be a destination for Tom Brady in free agency. But Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal reported recently that the Titans might actually be using the Brady brouhaha as leverage to save some scratch on Tannehill's contract.

"The truth is there isn't much of a market (for Tannehill), at least not with teams Brady really wants to or would play for. You, me, the Patriots and the lampost know Brady is not playing for Raiders or Bucs. He might, at the very end, play for the Chargers but they might go another direction before that. The Giants and Colts are out. League sources expect the Titans to lock in Ryan Tannehill at some point at a cheaper rate thanks to the Brady leverage, although that could change."

The likeliest outcome for Tannehill in 2020 is a return to the Titans—likely on a shorter-term, Kirk Cousins-esque deal.