Ran Carthon talks Ryan Tannehill, Titans’ offensive identity

One of the biggest decisions new Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon will have to make is what to do with quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

While Tannehill is under contract for one more season, there’s no guarantee he’ll be back. There’s no doubt he’s been very good for this franchise overall, but his inability to get the team to a Super Bowl leaves him on shaky ground.

After basically having just put his foot in the door, the 41-year-old GM was asked if Tannehill would be his starter in 2023. Understandably, he said it wasn’t fair to answer that question yet because he’s still evaluating things.

“I don’t think that’s fair at this point,” Carthon said, per John Glennon of Sports Illustrated. “We’re still evaluating the roster. I am, and that’s going to take further conversations with me and Mike [Vrabel] here. Ryan has been great here. He’s won a lot of football games and I look forward to us winning football games. But I still need more time to evaluate and make those decisions.”

“As you know, this is a quarterback-driven league and people are hired and fired every day over that position,” he added. “So we want to — I want to — spend more time evaluating that position so I have my own opinion, and Mike and I will confer and figure it out.”

Another topic that came up was the Titans’ identity on offense, which revolves around superstar running back Derrick Henry. Carthon said he believes an approach like that can win a Super Bowl.

“Yeah, [it can],” Carthon said. “I joke and I say it’s cute to play, you know, Golden State Warriors football, in October and September. But when those conditions change and you can’t throw the ball up and down the yard, you better be able to run it. And you better be able to defend it.

“I think if you look at the teams that are in the playoffs that are still playing at this stage, everybody’s able to run the ball. So I think you can win championships that way.”

Speaking of Henry: Carthon has yet to meet his star player but says he “can’t wait” to see how big he is in person.

“More than anything, I can’t wait to stand next to him and size him up to see how big he really is in person,” Carthon said with a smile.

In case you missed Friday’s presser, you can check out what Carthon had to say here, and head coach Mike Vrabel’s comments here.