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Turron DavenportESPN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — New Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis quickly shot down any thoughts of tension with starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill on Friday.
Tannehill said this month that it’s not his job to mentor Willis when asked about the Titans’ third-round selection in this year’s NFL draft.
Willis said he had no issue with Tannehill’s comments and that they’re already off to a good start.
“It was never anything negative,” Willis said. “Ryan’s a good dude. Everything is cool. He had us over [to] the house the other day and gave us a little bit of game regarding what comes with this process.”
Added coach Mike Vrabel, “I thought Ryan handled that very well.
“He was genuine, he was authentic,” Vrabel said. “Everybody here knows he’s a great teammate. That (mentoring) is not his job. His job is to prepare to help us win a bunch of games and be a great teammate and help out. That was not any sort of an issue for me.”
Tannehill returns as the starter this season after leading the Titans to the top seed in the AFC last season. But he threw three interceptions in a heartbreaking loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Titans moved up in the third round of the draft to select Willis with intentions of him being the quarterback of the future. Their plan is to develop Willis while Tannehill leads the way at least during the 2022 season.