NASHVILLE – Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was back on the practice field on Wednesday.
Will he be back in action on Sunday in Kansas City vs the Chiefs?
Well, that depends.
"Just being able to do my job effectively, and be able to move around," Tannehill said when asked what he needs to show in practices this week to put himself in a position to play. "Do my job, protect myself, and be able to not be a statue back there, right? Because that is not going to be an effective way to play a game, to not be able to move at all.
"(I need to) be able to move around in the pocket, evade a rush, get outside if I need to, that type of stuff."
Tannehill was listed as limited on the team’s Injury Report on Wednesday because of his right ankle.
Tannehill said he knows he'll have to deal with pain in practices, and probably games, as he continues to recover.
"Just getting back into it," Tannehill said. "Slowly, working into it with the ankle, and seeing where I'm at, day by day, just moving around and getting ready to go.
"Pain is going to be there, that's just kind of where we're at with it. Unfortunately, with the nature of the injury, it kind of is there. So, it's just going to be a matter of if I can do my job, or if I can't."
Tannehill didn't play in Sunday's game at Houston, when rookie Malik Willis made his first career start.
Over the weekend, the Titans downgraded Tannehill to out, ending his streak of 49 consecutive starts.
"(I was) disappointed," Tannehill said on Wednesday. "I obviously wanted to try to be out there, as I still do. We dealt with what last week was, and unfortunately I wasn't able to go and I'm trying to get myself ready to go this week. … I needed the time and wasn't able to do my job or to protect myself, so I wasn't able to go."
Tannehill missed practices last week because of the ankle injury he suffered vs the Colts, and last Friday the team also added "Illness" to his designation while initially listing him as questionable for the game.
Tannehill didn't travel with the team to Houston. He said he missed the game because of the ankle, and he ended up watching the game on television.
"The sickness sucked," he said, "but I would have been able to get through that one."
Tannehill suffered the ankle injury on October 23 vs Colts, and he missed practices on Wednesday and Friday of last week. Tannehill was listed as limited in Thursday's session.
Time will tell what Tannehill's status will be at the end of this week.
Kickoff for Sunday's game in Kansas City is scheduled for 7:20 p.m.
