Ryan Tannehill to Titans has major impact on Tom Brady

With Ryan Tannehill returning to the Tennessee Titans on a four-year deal, it has major implications for what Tom Brady can do in his impending free agency.

The Tennessee Titans have officially bowed out of the Tom Brady free agency sweepstakes.

By agreeing to a four-year deal worth $118 million with free-agent quarterback Ryan Tannehill, Brady will have to look elsewhere in his impending free agency should he want to leave the New England Patriots after 20 years. Brady has spent his entire NFL career in New England, but he may have played his last snap as a member of the Patriots for all we know.

Tannehill’s extension should send major shock waves to Brady’s camp because it was believed the Titans were his best potential suitor in free agency. The Titans are coached by Brady’s former New England teammate Mike Vrabel, who has a great relationship with his former quarterback. Tennessee has no state income tax, a ton of offensive weapons to work with and can win now.

So if Tennessee is out of the picture, who are the best potential suitors for Brady outside of New England?

The teams he’s been linked to the most include the Las Vegas Raiders, the Los Angeles Chargers and most recently, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys, the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers feel like nothing more than long shots at this point. However, the Buccaneers, Chargers and Raiders all make sense for him in some capacity.

Though the Raiders may say they still like Derek Carr, there is a growing belief an upgrade may becoming for the Silver and Black at the quarterback position this offseason or next. Las Vegas could bring a prospective free agent like Jameis Winston to challenge Carr for the job. The Raiders could also ship Carr to a team like the Chicago Bears and be all in on Brady for 2020.

The Chargers moved off long-time starter Philip Rivers this offseason. Unless they want to roll with Tyrod Taylor, the Chargers don’t have a starting quarterback on their roster. Though they could draft a guy like Justin Herbert out of Oregon or Jordan Love out of Utah State, they may not be ready to play day one. Brady could add spice to a team desperate to make noise this fall.

As for Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers are a late entrant into the Brady sweepstakes. It seems increasingly likely that Winston won’t be back next year. Tampa Bay has a roster than can compete in a feisty NFC South. Perhaps Brady has enough left in the tank to challenge Drew Brees and Matt Ryan in a loaded quarterback division? Tampa Bay is still very much in play for Brady.

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This makes Brady’s free agency saga even more fascinating. The presumptive front-runner to pry him away from New England has exited the race for The GOAT. Though Brady may return to New England to end his illustrious Pro Football Hall of Fame career, crossing Tennessee off only makes his free agency more compelling in the coming days. We are all on Brady free agency watch.