Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill sought therapy after playoff loss, says it's not his job to mentor rookie Malik Willis

The TennesseeTitans are well aware of how much of an opportunity they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs. Ryan Tannehill might have felt the most after throwing three picks in that game.

Tannehill said that the loss was a deep scar. I didn't get a lot of sleep for a while. It took me a long time to get out of the dark place.

I have worked through it, but therapy helped. It took a lot of work to get through it.

Tannehill said he has been through a lot of therapy and is able to look back on the game and learn from it. The veteran quarterback had been going to therapy for a while, but the sting from the playoff loss brought a new level of pain.

This is the first time that I needed therapy to get out of a dark space.

Tannehill said the loss is a scar he will carry with him for the rest of his life but that it can serve as fuel for him to work hard to get ready for the next season with a desire to win like he never had before.

Tannehill was back at the facility working with his teammates, which helped him shift his focus from the abrupt ending to the 2021 season. He will soon have a new quarterback working with him.

The rookies haven't reported yet, but they will be when they do, and that will include third-round pick and quarterback Malik Willis.

Tannehill said he was notified by theTitans that they were selecting Willis with the 86th pick. The veteran quarterback knows how the league works.

"I don't think it's my job to mentor him. But if he learns from me along the way that's a great thing." Ryan Tannehill, on the Titans drafting Malik Willis

Tannehill doesn't think it's his job to mentor him.

Tannehill had his first chance to publicly react to the trade that sent his No. 1 wide receiver, A.J. Brown, to the Philadelphia Eagles. The first-round pick they received in the trade was used to select a wide receiver.

I was shocked. Tannehill said of the Brown trade that it was a rumor. I didn't sleep well that night and thought it was a bad dream, but we're at that point.

Tannehill wanted to spend more time with his family, so he wasn't in attendance for the voluntary portion of the team activities. During the off-season, some of the Tennessee's receivers went to South Florida to work out with Tannehill.