Entering the final week of preseason games, two NFL teams have yet to name a regular-season starter: New England and Pittsburgh. Las Vegas, meanwhile, will open with journeyman Gardner Minshew under center after a lackluster camp competition with Aidan O’Connell.
As Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET roster-reduction deadline approaches, could either the Steelers or Raiders have Ryan Tannehill’s name and phone number on their free-agent boards? Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi said on Monday’s GM Shuffle podcast he believes either club would be wise to call the veteran.
“O’Connell is a backup quarterback in the league,” Lombardi said, “and that’s not a knock on Aidan O’Connell, but that’s what he is. He’s not a varsity athlete. … So, the Raiders are a team without a quarterback.
“Pittsburgh’s a team without a quarterback. Look, we can all sit here and talk about Russell Wilson being a disaster, which he was, but (Broderick) Jones the right tackle was as much a disaster as anything. They didn’t protect at all. There’s more issues there than just, ‘We need a quarterback,’ in Pittsburgh.”
Lombardi added that when a quarterback doesn’t separate himself in a competition, there is no quarterback competition.
“Ryan Tannehill could make you a better team,” Lombardi said. “At some point now, the Bat Phone is going to ring and Alfred the Butler is going to have to answer it. Somebody’s going to have to make that call. Neither team, Pittsburgh or the Raiders are going to win – and I don’t want to bet against Mike Tomlin ever – but they’re not going to win with their present situation. Tannehill, if healthy, especially in Arthur Smith’s offense, especially there (with Pittsburgh).”
The Steelers signed Wilson to a deal with a no-trade clause in the spring for the veteran’s minimum, $1.2 million.