Bears Top Fit for Former AFC Champion QB to Back Up Caleb Williams

Getty Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, formerly of the Tennessee Titans.

The Chicago Bears don’t need to add a starting QB in free agency, but they might well be in the market for a veteran backup.

Perhaps the best option for that job currently on the market is former Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans starter Ryan Tannehill. Bill Barnwell of ESPN named Chicago the “best team fit” for Tannehill in an article published on Wednesday, March 20.

“The depth chart in Chicago consists of Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien,” Barnwell wrote. “Tannehill’s not going to push likely No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams for the starting job, but a little bit of veteran experience in the quarterback room wouldn’t hurt.”

Healthy Ryan Tannehill ‘Overqualified’ as Backup QB

GettyQuarterback Ryan Tannehill, formerly of the Tennessee Titans.

Tannehill was a poster boy for the average NFL quarterback for the first half of his career, which he spent in Miami. However, he earned a Pro Bowl nod in his first season in Tennessee in 2019 and led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game. The franchise went on to earn playoff berths in each of the next two seasons as well.

Using Tannehill’s five-year history in Tennessee — including last year as a prime example — Barnwell made a case for why a healthy Tannehill remains a starting-caliber QB, even despite entering his age-36 season in 2024.

“I’m not sure anybody was going to thrive behind a porous offensive line in Tennessee last season,” Barnwell wrote Wednesday. “The 2022 version of Tannehill averaged 7.8 yards per attempt with Robert Woods as his top wideout, and it’s telling that the Titans fell apart after their starting quarterback went down with another ankle injury. That version of Tannehill would be overqualified as a backup.”

An opportunity to legitimately compete for a starting job in Week 1 doesn’t appear to exist for Tannehill anywhere in the league, meaning he is likely to search for an advantageous backup position for the first time in his 12-year career — 11 of which he spent as a starter and one he missed entirely due to injury (2017).

Potential opportunities with teams like the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, depending on how their drafts shake out, could provide Tannehill a better chance to start earlier and potentially win the job on a permanent basis — at least for the balance of the 2024 campaign.

Bears Should Be Looking for Ryan Tannehill Type of QB to Play Behind Caleb Williams

GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams, formerly of USC.

However, a spot like Chicago could also be attractive given how the Bears have stacked the offense. Tannehill can play mentor to Williams on a one-year basis and potentially fill in if the rookie runs into injury problems, leading the Bears in meaningful games as a legitimate playoff contender in 2024.

From Chicago’s perspective, Tannehill is the exactly the type of player the team needs. He won’t threaten Williams’ status as the franchise QB in the short- or long-term, but has a wealth of starting experience and knows what it takes to make a deep playoff run.

Tannehill will also be affordable coming off of a four-year, $118 million deal in Tennessee that expired following the 2023 campaign. Spotrac projects Tannehill’s market value at roughly $5 million over a new one-year deal.

Tannehill has amassed an 81-70 mark as an NFL starter and is also 2-3 in his postseason career. He has posted a total of 34,881 yards, 216 TDs and 115 INTs over the course of his career.