Marcus Mariota

An impressive stretch of play could help Ryan Tannehill get a major raise next season.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Tennessee Titans are considering using a franchise tag on the quarterback and are "increasingly interested in retaining him beyond this season."

Tannehill became the starter in Week 7 after the team benched Marcus Mariota, who is also a free agent at the end of the season.

Mariota was expected to be the team's franchise quarterback but had an up-and-down five seasons with the team. The squad was 2-4 this season with the 2015 No. 2 overall pick under center despite his efficient 91.7 quarterback rating.

Tannehill—who failed to turn heads in seven years with the Miami Dolphins—has helped turn things around with a 4-1 record as a starter. He has 10 touchdown passes in this stretch with a 72.1 completion percentage and an NFL-best 9.2 yards per attempt.

His aggressiveness on downfield passing has improved the entire offense, which had been stagnant under Mariota.

"The synergy between Tannehill, Henry, the offensive line and Tennessee's receivers has enabled first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to settle in as a play-caller and craft an offensive identity that will give opponents problems down the stretch," Bucky Brooks of NFL.com explained.

It has also put the Titans back in the playoff race at 6-5 entering Sunday, one game back in the AFC South.

Though Tannehill signed just a one-year deal in the offseason with a $7 million base salary, he is proving he could be a long-term option for Tennessee.

Per La Canfora, the Titans could place the franchise tag on him at likely just under $27 million for 2020, locking him down before he hits free agency. This could provide the team with a larger sample size to judge him with this offense without mortgaging the future at the position.

On the other hand, it appears Mariota's time with this organization is finished.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota vowed Wednesday to continue fighting for opportunities after being benched in favor of Ryan Tannehill for the team's Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"Until the day that I die, I'm going to believe I gave it all I got. No matter what, I can learn and grow from this situation. This isn't going to bring me down. This isn't going to end my career," Mariota told reporters. "I had an opportunity to play but I didn't make the most of it. I am going to learn and grow from it." 

He added: "You have to be ready at any point in time. No matter what I will prepare just as I have and I'll be ready to go."

Tannehill replaced Mariota during Sunday's 16-0 loss to the Denver Broncos.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft completed just seven of his 18 throws for 63 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions before the quarterback change.

Tannehill was 13-of-16 passing for 144 yards with no scores and one pick in relief.

Although Mariota has complied seven touchdowns and two interceptions, his other numbers through six games are concerning. He's averaging less than 200 yards passing per game while completing a career-low 59.1 percent of his throws. He's also been sacked an NFL-high 25 times.

The 25-year-old Hawaii native ranks 29th of 30 qualified quarterbacks in ESPN's Total QBR.

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said the change is being made with the hope it can provide a "little spark" to the team's 27th-ranked offense.

"I am very confident, after having talked to Marcus and watching him prepare already today that if called upon, at some point and time, we expect him to be ready to go," Vrabel told reporters. "It is not an easy thing for any player. ... But we felt like this was the right thing for the team right now."

Tennessee, which came out firing on all cylinders with a 43-13 blowout victory over the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, has lost four of its last five games. That's dropped the team's playoff chances to eight percent, according to FiveThirtyEight.

The quarterback change doesn't come as a surprise given those circumstances. That said, Tannehill rarely looked like a franchise QB during his six years as the Miami Dolphins' starter, so there's a good chance Mariota will regain control of the Titans' offense before season's end.

Sunday was not a good day for the Tennessee Titans or fantasy players relying on the team's offensive options.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota was benched during the 16-0 loss to the Denver Broncos after going 7-of-18 passing for 63 yards, zero touchdowns and two picks. Ryan Tannehill was better at 13-of-16 for 144 yards, but he finished with zero touchdowns and an interception.

The disastrous offensive showing was problematic for the stat lines of the receivers as well, as A.J. Brown (two catches for 23 yards) and Corey Davis (three catches for 36 yards) each struggled to make an impact.

With that in mind, here is a fantasy reaction for an offense in flux.

Ryan Tannehill 

The advice here is fairly simple—don't even think about playing Tannehill until you know he will be under center for the Titans in Week 7 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Just because the Titans benched Mariota while he was struggling in the loss to the Broncos doesn't mean they won't go back to him in hopes he can make strides as the supposed franchise quarterback whom they selected with the No. 2 overall pick in 2015.

Tannehill said head coach Mike Vrabel did not say who will start the next game, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, so there will be some uncertainty into the week.

While the Texas A&M product is never going to be the answer for a team with Super Bowl aspirations at this point in his career, he is a potential streaming option for fantasy managers in the coming weeks.

He has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in a season twice in his career, and the Titans play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in two weeks. Tampa Bay is dead last in the league in passing yards allowed per game and is an intriguing matchup for those willing to take a chance on Tannehill.

Make sure he is the starter in Tennessee first, though.

A.J. Brown and Corey Davis

If fantasy players are looking for a silver lining when it comes to Brown and Davis, Tannehill's willingness to spread the ball around provides something of a positive outlook:

The backup quarterback trusted them more than other pass-catchers, which may portend breakout efforts if he remains under center.

Davis has been one of the biggest disappointments in the league this year. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft and finished last season with 891 receiving yards and four touchdown catches. He figured to make strides and potentially break out in 2019 given his draft status, but he has surpassed 50 receiving yards just once through six weeks with a single touchdown.

Brown has stolen some of the spotlight from Davis after Tennessee selected him with a second-round pick in the 2019 draft.

He flashed his potential at times this year with 100 receiving yards in the opener against the Cleveland Browns and 94 yards and two touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons, but consistency has been an issue. He has less than 30 receiving yards in Tennessee's other four games.

At this point, fantasy owners should stash both players on their bench. While the potential is there, there hasn't been enough consistency from either to merit a starting spot.

If they thrive with Tannehill and more targets, adjust accordingly. 

The ongoing struggles for Marcus Mariota have led the Tennessee Titans to make a change at quarterback.

Per The Athletic's John Glennon, Ryan Tannehill took over for Mariota in the third quarter with the Titans trailing 13-0 against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday.

Tennessee's offense couldn't get anything going against the Broncos defense with Mariota under center. The 2014 Heisman Trophy winner was 7-of-18 for 63 yards and two interceptions before being replaced.

The struggles for Mariota go far beyond what happened in three quarters versus Denver. The Titans entered Week 6 ranked 23rd in scoring offense (19.6 points per game) and 28th in passing yards per game (192.2).

Since dropping 43 points in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, the Titans scored 55 points over their next four games combined.

Mariota's overall stat line through the first five games was decent with 1,116 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. It's been apparent based on the team's performance, though, that the offense wasn't playing well enough to support a defense that is only allowing 15.2 points per game.

Tannehill last played in Week 17 last season for the Miami Dolphins. He has appeared in 89 games since entering the NFL in 2012.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said Friday that he is "not looking to make a change at quarterback right now," according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com.

The question was posed after starting signal-caller Marcus Mariota struggled mightily in a 20-7 road loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

Veteran quarterback and former Miami Dolphins starter Ryan Tannehill is Mariota's backup.

Since throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns in a season-opening win over the Cleveland Browns, Mariota has looked out of sorts. He threw for just 154 yards and a touchdown in a Week 2 loss to the Indianapolis Colts and then finished with 304 yards with no touchdowns on 23-of-40 passing Thursday.

While the 304 yards look good cosmetically, much of Mariota's production came late in the game with Jacksonville playing prevent defense and nursing a two-score lead.

Tennessee selected Mariota with the No. 2 overall pick out of Oregon in 2015, and he has shown flashes of brilliance at times throughout his career.

His best statistical season came in 2016 when he threw for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while rushing for 349 yards and two scores.

Although he dropped off the following season to the tune of 3,232 yards with 13 touchdowns and 15 picks, he led the Titans to the playoffs and also spearheaded them to a playoff win.

Mariota missed two games due to injury last season and was largely ineffective when he played, throwing for 2,528 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

This season is viewed as a make-or-break campaign for Mariota since he is in the final year of his contract. If he doesn't turn things around soon, his tenure in Tennessee may be over.

Tannehill was previously in a similar situation with the Dolphins. After Miami took him eighth overall in the 2012 NFL draft out of Texas A&M, he went 42-46 as a starter over six seasons with 20,434 passing yards, 123 touchdowns and 75 interceptions.

He also started 13 games in 2016 when Miami went 10-6 and reached the playoffs.

After a 2018 season that saw him throw for 1,979 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 11 games, however, the Dolphins decided to move on by trading him to Tennessee for a 2019 seventh-round pick and 2020 fourth-round pick.

Vrabel's comments suggest he intends to stick with Mariota against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4, but another loss and poor showing may lead to even more pressure to given Tannehill a shot under center.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters he was "not very" close to replacing starting quarterback Marcus Mariota with backup Ryan Tannehill in the midst of their 20-7 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars' TIAA Bank Field on Thursday.

Tennessee allowed nine sacks and didn't score until the fourth quarter. Mariota threw for 304 yards, but 81 of them occurred in garbage time on the Titans' last drive.

The fifth-year pro completed just 23 of 40 passes and missed a wide-open Delanie Walker in the end zone on his team's first second-half drive.

Mariota has struggled in back-to-back games, as he threw for just 154 yards (5.5 yards per pass attempt) in a 19-17 home loss to the Indianapolis Colts the week before.

In fairness to the ex-Oregon star, he's been sacked more times than any other quarterback in league history through three weeks, according to NFL Research:

Still, the Titans offense is on life support, having scored just seven points in their last 79 minutes of play dating back to Week 2.

The question now is whether the Titans offense can rebound or if Vrabel will be forced make a change.

The Titans' upcoming schedule against opposing pass defenses won't ease up much. Returns are early, but Tennessee will face the No. 7 and No. 9 most efficient pass defenses in the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills next, per Football Outsiders.

On the plus side, left tackle Taylor Lewan, who has one game left on a four-game performance-enhancing drug suspension, will be back for Week 5 and should help keep Mariota upright.

Tennessee will look to get back on track for its Week 4 matchup at Atlanta on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 1 p.m. ET.