Veteran Ryan Tannehill will start at quarterback for the Tennessee Titans in Sunday’s regular-season finale, coach Mike Vrabel said after Friday’s practice.

Tannehill draws the start against the Jacksonville Jaguars due to Will Levis dealing with an injured right foot.

It will be Tannehill’s 63rd start for Tennessee (5-11) over the last five seasons. Only seven of them have occurred this season as he lost the starting gig to Levis in late October.

“He’s handled (things) with class,” Vrabel said of Tannehill. “You can be disappointed, but also still be supportive and be about the team. A lot of emotions that go on with each individual player, their role on the football team and how that changes throughout the year. But I do appreciate Ryan’s professionalism throughout.”

Tannehill has completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 1,448 yards, with just two touchdown throws and six interceptions in nine appearances this season. Overall, he has compiled 34,713 passing yards, 214 touchdowns and 114 interceptions in 11 NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins (2012-18) and Tennessee (2019-23).

Second-year pro Malik Willis will serve as the backup quarterback on Sunday. Levis, who is listed as questionable, will be the No. 3 quarterback and used only in an emergency.

Levis has completed 58.4 percent of his passes for 1,808 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.

Four Titans were ruled out — cornerbacks Caleb Farley (back) and Anthony Kendall (knee), defensive end TK McLendon Jr. (shoulder) and receiver Colton Dowell (knee).

–Field Level Media

Ryan Tannehill welcomes the chance to return to the starting lineup even with the Tennessee Titans eliminated from playoff consideration.

Tannehill operated the first-team offense on Wednesday in place of injured rookie quarterback Will Levis. Levis did not practice due to an ankle injury.

Tannehill could get the call this week in what sets up potentially as his final home start with the franchise. The past two months have been a rollercoaster of emotion for the 35-year-old who was demoted while dealing with an ankle injury similar to the one Levis is fighting this week.

“It’s a challenge, right? You get your job taken, basically,” Tannehill said. “And your first instinct is not a positive one. It’s been a growing opportunity for me to put my own feelings aside and try to be an asset, continue to work and be a positive impact on this team.”

Head coach Mike Vrabel said “we’ll see where it goes” when asked for the pecking order at quarterback before admitting he would hand the keys back to Tannehill if Levis isn’t able to play. Malik Willis would be the No. 2 quarterback in that scenario.

With the Titans at 2-4 and Tannehill hurt, Tennessee started Levis for the first time Oct. 29. Levis threw four TD passes in a 28-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

In eight NFL starts, Levis has thrown for 1,792 passing yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Tannehill has two touchdowns, six interceptions and has been sacked 19 times in 2023.

But the Titans (5-9) are no longer in playoff contention, mathematically eliminated last week, reducing the motivation for Vrabel to risk playing Levis despite being injury.

The Titans selected Levis 33rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft with Tannehill in the final season of a four-year, $118 million contract.

Tannehill said he’s encouraging teammates to find a reason to be bring passion to the field Sunday against the visiting Seattle Seahawks and the final two games after that.

“Obviously our No. 1 goal is not on the table at this point,” Tannehill said. “You want to go out there and find a reason to bring passion, bring energy to your teammates. Right now I’m playing for my teammates, my family and myself. That’s what I lean on.”

–Field Level Media

Head coach Mike Vrabel saw enough of rookie Will Levis in a two-game audition to make the permanent change to the rookie quarterback as the Titans get ready to visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Vrabel said the Titans made the decision after Levis, 24, impressed as the starter filling in for injured Ryan Tannehill. He threw four touchdown passes in his debut to beat the Atlanta Falcons and showed poise and confidence in a loss at Pittsburgh last week.

“There’s clearly something there, and we want to be able to continue to work with him and progress and develop and win — that’s how you get better,” Vrabel said. “You only get better by going out there and playing, especially at that position. So this will be a huge test for any quarterback, going on the road, in Tampa, with what they are able to do, how well they are coached schematically, but also the players they have, the pressure packages, the disguises that they are able to have, and as many turnovers as they’ve been able to create.

Vrabel said he met with his quarterbacks on Tuesday morning before informing the team of his decision. The shift in direction comes after Vrabel insisted he wouldn’t make a call until Tannehill, out with an ankle injury, was healthy.

Vrabel declined to discuss the team’s plans moving forward at the position, saying instead he wanted to let Tannehill get healthy before making any definitive decisions at quarterback.

“Will is going to be our quarterback. We are going to go with Will. We think that is the best opportunity for our football team right now,” Vrabel said.

“I think Ryan will progress though here this week. I think, and we’re hopeful (he) can be a back-up here for us and prepare as a starter. That’s where we’re at right now.”

Tannehill, 35, is in the final year of his contract and Levis was expected to be given a chance to win the job. But Tannehill’s second major ankle injury advanced the team’s timeline.

Drafted No. 33 overall in April out of Kentucky, Levis threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns with a 130.5 rating in his first start, resulting in a 28-23 win over the Falcons on Oct. 29. He had seven completions of 20-plus yards at Pittsburgh. Tannehill had two touchdown passes and six interceptions in six starts this season.

“I have a lot of respect for Ryan, personally and professionally,” Vrabel said. “We’ve won a lot of football games here with Ryan. He was a professional (when we talked), but I’ll keep that conversation between him and I and allow him to speak for himself.”

–Field Level Media

Ryan Tannehill did not practice with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday, and head coach Mike Vrabel has multiple backup plans in place for Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons.

Those backup plans are the Nos. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks behind Tannehill, who only recently ditched a knee scooter to alleviate bearing weight on his injured ankle.

Malik Willis and Will Levis were set to share first-team reps in Tuesday’s practice and would split the QB role on Sunday should the Titans be without Tannehill.

“We’ll see where he is at the end of the week,” Vrabel said of Tannehill. “And I would imagine if Ryan can’t play, I would anticipate both of those quarterbacks playing in the football game. But Ryan is off of the roller, or walker, or whatever he had, and we’ll see where he is at the end of the week.”

Tannehill injured his ankle on Oct. 15 in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The team acknowledged his current ankle injury is similar to the one he suffered early last season, when he missed two games. Tannehill re-injured the ankle later last season and was placed on injured reserve.

There is some consideration given to resting Tannehill with a short week to follow. Tennessee travels to Pittsburgh to challenge the Steelers next Thursday in the first of three consecutive road games.

But the Titans (2-4) have been held below 17 points in all four losses.

Willis is the No. 2 quarterback and presumably would start because of his experience. He played in eight games last season and was 4-of-5 passing in relief of Tannehill against the Ravens. He also was sacked four times.

The Titans drafted Will Levis 33rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft with Tannehill, 35, in the final year of his contract.

Would it be Willis or Levis with the starters against Atlanta? Vrabel wouldn’t confirm what the QB pecking order might be if Tannehill is held out this week.

“We’ll see what the game plan looks like, and first off see where Ryan is at,” Vrabel said. “We’ll talk about what we may want to do throughout the course of the game. If Ryan can’t play, I expect both of them to play.”

–Field Level Media