Ryan Tannehill Discusses Hearing Tom Brady Rumors During Titans Contract Talks

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is the new owner of a four-year, $118 million deal after coming off the bench midseason and helping lead his team to the 2019 AFC Championship Game. 

However, it was unclear who would be the Titans' quarterback heading into 2020, especially with Tannehill a free agent and rumors circulating that Tennessee could land six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk), Tannehill explained his thought process throughout his free-agency period with Brady reportedly in the shadows:

"I really didn't know what was going to happen. Obviously, I knew we were in negotiations and kind of working on it, but you don't know. As a player, you don't know if those things are real, if they're trying to play both sides of coin or what. I just tried to stay true to the things I believed in and lean on the people I love and just try to trust the process.

"I knew if they wanted me back, then we were going to get it worked out, and if they wanted to sign Tom, then they probably would have signed Tom. I try not listen too much to it. Obviously, I was aware of the situation. I knew it could be happening, but I wasn't sitting at home stressed. 'What could happen? What could happen?'

"Because at that point, it was really kind of out of my hands. I'm thankful the way it worked out. I was excited to be back. I wanted to be back. I love the guys on the team. I like the direction this program is headed off what we did last year and how I think we can build on that going into my year two with this team. Obviously, excited to be back. Yeah, I wouldn't say it was nerve-racking day by day or anything like that."

Tannehill came off the bench for Marcus Mariota in Week 6 of the NFL season with the Titans offense struggling en route to a 2-4 start.

Tennessee lost to the Denver Broncos 16-0 during that mid-game transfer of quarterback power, but the Titans offense sprung to life with Tannehill under center, going 7-3 and scoring 30.4 points per game the rest of the way.

Tennessee never scored fewer than 20 points during that stretch, which saw Tannehill complete 69.6 percent of his passes for 22 touchdowns and just five interceptions.

Tennessee then rode running back Derrick Henry and a pair of stout defensive efforts into the AFC Championship Game in road upsets over the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. The Titans lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game.

Brady eventually chose the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he'll lead a potentially explosive passing attack with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski.

The Titans will look to continue their torrid pace from last year.

Second-year wideout A.J. Brown, who developed an exceptional rapport with Tannehill, will need to make a big part in those efforts.

The former Ole Miss star caught 38 passes for 778 yards and six touchdowns in his final 10 games with Tannehill under center.

The Titans also return Henry, wideout Corey Davis and tight end Jonnu Smith among others in an offense that's largely intact from last year.

The biggest switch is at right tackle, with backup Dennis Kelly taking over for Jack Conklin, who left for the Cleveland Browns in free agency.