3 dark horse quarterback options for Commanders this offseason

2. Ryan Tannehill

Some fans might scoff at the idea of acquiring Ryan Tannehill after his nightmarish performance against the Bengals in the playoffs, and you know what? We’re tired of hearing it. Look at the quarterbacks that have passed through this franchise just in the last five seasons!

You can’t come off a season with Taylor Heinicke, a former XFL star, as your starter for 16 games and suddenly think you’re too good for Jimmy Garoppolo, Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston and other available mid-tier signal callers.

Would Tannehill be the ideal acquisition? Obviously not, but he’d be markedly better than anything else Washington has rolled out there in recent years.

Don’t look at his numbers from this past season and make a judgment on his ability. They don’t say that he played without Derrick Henry, the lifeblood of Tennessee’s offense, for most of the year, and had star receivers AJ Brown and Julio Jones in and out of the lineup due to injury.

Despite that, Tannehill still helped lead the Titans to the No. 1 seed in a loaded AFC. Sure his efficiency tailed off compared to 2020 and 2019 — when he threw 55 touchdowns to just 13 interceptions — but he’s not an upper-echelon quarterback who can make lemonade without any lemons.

And that’s fine! Surround him with a strong running game, decent weapons, a competent offensive line and a sufficient defense, and Washington will win at least10 games with him as its starter, especially in the NFC East.

With Aaron Rodgers said to be moving to the Nashville area, there’s growing rumors that he’d be open to a trade to Tennessee. That, of course, would make Tannehilll superfluous and available for trade. It’s a long shot, but if it happens, Washington should be one of the first teams to get the Titans on the phone.