After Aidan O’Connell broke his thumb against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 7, the Las Vegas Raiders need another quarterback, and free agency Ryan Tannehill is the easiest to sign/best player who is guaranteed to be available. All the Raiders need to do is offer Tannehill the starting job upon his agreement to join the roster and pay him a small salary to take over as the team’s quarterback ahead of Gardner Minshew II. Tannehill completed his $118 million contract with the Tennessee Titans last season and has been available ever since. However, he made it clear that he did not intend to return to the NFL in 2024 unless an injury or other event presented him with the opportunity to begin immediately.
“When Tannehill became a free agency in March, his goal was to essentially become what Joe Flacco was last season. On September 12, Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team stated that the quarterback did not want to sign as a backup and risk injury. “He’s going to wait for a club to suffer a season-ending quarterback injury, and they’ll need him. Then he enters and takes on the role of the guy. He still wants to play. “He does not want to sit.”
Following O’Connell’s injury on Sunday, Las Vegas should be willing and able to provide Tannehill with what he seeks. The Raiders had already replaced Minshew in the starting lineup with O’Connell before being forced to reverse the decision owing to O’Connell’s thumb. In a loss to the once one-win Rams, Minshew threw for only 154 yards and three interceptions on 15-of-34 passing.
The Raiders, who are at 2-5, will have to make a deal to get a quarterback this week regardless. If they are serious about winning for the rest of the season, that player must be better than Minshew. They might be able to find someone on the trade market, but it will cost the Raiders not just the quarterback’s contract, but also at least one draft asset. Tannehill, on the other hand, is expected to earn $7.7 million in the 2024 season. Prorated over the final ten games of the season, that figure puts his cost to Las Vegas at about $4-$4.5 million on a one-year contract.
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