Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill received a lot of criticism earlier this month when he said it’s not his job to mentor Malik Willis.
“We’re competing against each other, we’re watching the same tape, we’re doing the same drills,” Tannehill said. “I don’t think it’s my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way, then that’s a great thing.”
On Friday, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel shot down the idea that Tannehill’s comments would cause any trouble in the locker room.
“His job is to prepare to help us win a bunch of games and and be a great teammate and help out,” Vrabel said, via the Associated Press. “And I know that he’s going to do that. So that was not any sort of issue for me.”
Vrabel continued: “I thought Ryan handled that very well. I thought he was genuine. I thought he is authentic. And I know Ryan is a great teammate. Everybody here knows he’s a great teammate. And that is not his job.”
As for Willis, he revealed that he actually sat down with Tannehill to talk about this incident. It sounds like they’re on the same page.
“Oh, man, we chopped it up. I mean, it was never anything negative,” Willis told reporters. “Ryan’s a good dude. Like i said he had us over to the house. Everything’s cool.”
If Vrabel and Willis are OK with Tannehill’s comments, Titans fans shouldn’t be worried.
Tannehill will enter the 2022 season as the unquestioned starter for the Titans. Last year, he helped lead the team to a 12-5 record in the regular season.