INDIANAPOLIS – Titans General Manager Ran Carthon met with reporters here at the NFL Combine on Tuesday.
Carthon held a 15-minute session at the podium, along with a more informal session that last roughly 10 minutes with reporters from the Nashville area.
Among the biggest topics Carthon discussed: QB Ryan Tannehill, and back-up quarterback Malik Willis.
"Ryan has done a great job, and Ryan has won a lot of football games as you guys know," Carthon said of Tannehill. "He's been a diligent worker – he's been in the building every day rehabbing and getting his work in. So he is under contract, and I am excited about moving forward with him. He has done a lot of great things, and I have a ton of respect for him.
"Ryan is under contract," Carthon said when asked a follow-up. "I just want to speak freely for a moment. I know everybody wants to make a big deal out of the quarterback position, and whether he will or won't be here. But you guys just have to accept the fact that Ryan is under contract for us and right now he is a Titan, and he will be a Titan."
Carthon said he didn't want to speak on Tannehill's contract status when asked if he might restructure his deal. He said he has not approached Tannehill's agent or Tannehill about the topic.
Carthon said the team will evaluate every position in this year's NFL Draft, including the quarterback spot. The same goes for options at every position in free agency.
As for Willis, a third-round pick for the Titans in last year's draft who played in eight games last season, with three starts, Carthon said he's had a great conversation with Willis since the end of last season.
"The one thing I talked to Malik about was to continue to grow as a quarterback, and that is not just throwing the ball," Carthon said of Willis. "A quarterback is so much more mental than it is physical, and from that standpoint I just talked to him about being able to lead the locker room, being able to have that presence and continuing just to reach out to some of the greats in our games, and guys that (could) help him.
"So, we have been able to connect, and he's reached out to other quarterbacks in the league to kind of serve as mentors for him, which kind of shows you who he is as a person and where he sees himself and where he wants to go."
