Aaron Rodgers to the Tennessee Titans? Any speculation is just more Ryan Tannehill disrespect | Estes

Not long after ESPN’s Bill Barnwell lit a fuse by mentioning the Tennessee Titans as one of seven potential trading partners for the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers, the eruption reached Nashville.

Sports talk shows have been all over it. And who can blame them? It is a great discussion, a fascinating idea, idle speculation as it was.

Far-fetched perhaps, but it’s not absurd. Not many quarterbacks would be an upgrade on Ryan Tannehill, and Rodgers would be. Everyone knows his credentials. He’s Aaron freakin’ Rodgers, and he’s only 37, not too far gone in QB years.

"For the Titans, this would be a move to get over the hump,” Barnwell wrote. "… This would be a two- or three-year window to try to win with Rodgers and (Derrick) Henry as a devastating one-two punch."

OK.

But let's think about this. Is the gap between quarterbacks large enough to justify the Titans giving up Tannehill in addition to two first-round picks, as Barnwell wrote would be necessary to make a deal happen (and others agree)?

No, it’s not.

Any argument for the Titans to pursue this is born out of a stubborn instance that Tannehill – fueled by a couple of playoff losses – will never be good enough to take this franchise where it wants to go, and the time to get there is right now.

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Henry obviously deserves ample credit, too, but the Titans wouldn’t have been anywhere near as successful the past two seasons if they hadn’t traded for Tannehill, a move that has proven to be Jon Robinson’s greatest as general manager.

Making a case for Tannehill is perhaps the easiest column that I regularly write, yet I’ve had to keep writing it. No other quarterback in the NFL is so thoroughly underrated.

Look around the league right now: Tannehill’s stock should be soaring.

What’s happening in Green Bay, for one, reflects terribly on Rodgers. Any player, no matter his reasons, reportedly aiming to oust a general manager whose Packers went 13-3 last season should give other GMs pause on welcoming him into their organization at a steep cost.

Rodgers’ actions are in fashion, occurring in an offseason already marked by grumbling star quarterbacks. We’ve had Russell Wilson’s growing discontent in Seattle. We had Deshaun Watson demanding a trade out of Houston before an avalanche of problems off the field.

And then there’s Tannehill, who this past weekend was texting Titans draft picks as soon as they were selected.

“He just said that he’s excited for me to come down and he felt like that was a good pick for them,” Louisville wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick said, “and he likes my game and I’ve got to be a weapon with this offense. … I felt great that he texted me.”

Tannehill isn’t applauded enough for what he means to the Titans. In part, that’s because he doesn’t crave the attention or power in the organization. There’s no ego, and the Titans have to love that about him.

He’s kind of an NFL unicorn in that way, unique in that he is starring for a team that didn’t draft him. That makes him deeply invested and humble. He understandably appreciates his role in Tennessee more because he knows what it’s like to lose a starting spot elsewhere.

And yet, what happened during his tenure in Miami still keeps him from being considered one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks when his Titans resurgence has justified that status.

The playoffs? Sure, that’s a reasonable gripe with Tannehill after last season’s Wild Card loss. But Henry’s postseason heroics the prior season shouldn’t be counted against his quarterback. Tannehill made throws to help beat the Patriots and Ravens that get ignored in hindsight.

The Titans wouldn’t have made the playoffs the past two seasons without Tannehill. He salvaged a sinking ship when he took over for Marcus Mariota in 2019. Then with many doubting he’d retain that form in 2020, he pitched a Pro Bowl-caliber season despite a season-ending injury to his star left tackle, Taylor Lewan, and an inferior defense that repeatedly demanded clutch, late-game heroics that Tannehill routinely provided.

His presence and good health – alongside Henry – should mean the Titans continue to win and challenge for the postseason despite some glaring weaknesses.

Entering 2021, the Titans’ roster remains far from complete, but in the NFL, an effective quarterback can make up for a lot.

The Titans are lucky. They have such a quarterback – and no drama accompanying him.

Why would they mortgage their future to create some?

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.