Matt Barkley to Start at QB Against Bears

NASHVILLE – Ryan Tannehill said Tuesday that he had no idea whether or not coaches planned to play him in the Tennessee Titans’ preseason finale.

Now, no one ever will know. The veteran quarterback was one of three players added to the Titans’ Reserve-COVID 19 list on Thursday and one of eight to be placed there in the four days since coach Mike Vrabel tested positive for the coronavirus. Based on NFL and NFL Players’ Association protocols, Tannehill will not be cleared in time to play against the Chicago Bears on Saturday at Nissan Stadium.

A short time later, coach Mike Vrabel said Matt Barkley would be Tennessee’s starter and would split playing time with Logan Woodside as those two continue to battle for positioning on the depth chart behind Tannehill.

“The plan for the game would be to start Matt just like we started Logan last week and then rotate those guys every two series,” Vrabel said. “Hopefully, we can continue to get a great evaluation of those guys and give Matt the opportunity to start the game and see if he can’t get us off to a good start.”

Coaches rotated Barkley and Woodside last Saturday to great effect. Tennessee defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-3, and the quarterbacks combined to complete just shy of 80 percent of their passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Both had passer ratings that exceeded 130 – Woodside’s was 139.6 and Barkley’s was 134.1.

However, Woodside failed to lead the offense to points on either of the first two drives. Barkley took the Titans to a touchdown and a field goal on his first two series’.

Woodside, Tannehill’s backup in 2020, started each of the first two preseason games and has completed 17 of 23 passes for 148 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Barkley, signed days before the first preseason game, has produced a remarkably similar stat line with 17 completions on 24 attempts for 169 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Woodside is a second-year NFL veteran who has attempted just three regular-season passes in his career. Barkley has been in the league since 2013 and has seven starts to his credit (he is 2-5). Before this year, he spent three seasons as the No. 2 guy with the Buffalo Bills.

“It has been great to watch those guys work together,” offensive coordinator Todd Downing said this week. “They complement one another. They bounce ideas off one another. It is really a good dynamic in the room, there is no distraction because of the competition.

“… I think (Barkley) has done a nice job of working hard to be more comfortable with the system and with the verbiage. … That competition will continue to get tighter and tighter, and it will be fun to see who comes out ahead.”