NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Titans are confident enough Ryan Tannehill can repeat the best season of his career, or close enough, that they gave him a four-year, $118 million contract.
The rest of the NFL needs to see Tannehill do it again to believe he really is the quarterback who led the league in passer rating.
Tannehill has heard he has his doubters.
"My process doesn't change," Tannehill said. "How I go about getting ready for a season, getting ready for a football game, how I work in practice and prepare, that process doesn't change. So I'm doing everything I can to play the best football I can, and whatever happens after that happens."
Tannehill has plenty of company when it comes NFL players trying to prove a career season wasn't a one-hit wonder but a preview of coming attractions.
He posted a 117.5 passer rating, averaged 9.6 yards per pass and ranked third in the NFL by completing 70.3% of his passes last season. The Titans went 9-4 and reached the AFC championship game for the first time in 17 years after Tannehill took over as the starter in mid-October. He also was voted the league's comeback player of the year.
His play earlier in his career with the Miami Dolphins actually indicates Tannehill might be able to follow up his amazing season. Tannehill had a passer rating of 92.7 or higher in three of his seven seasons with the Dolphins, and he had three seasons completing at least 64.2% of his passes. When Miami traded him to Tennessee in March 2019, Tannehill joined a franchise that had gone 9-7 the previous three seasons.
He only got more comfortable with the Titans' offense as the season progressed. He had a 124.6 passer rating in December, when he threw 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions - best in the AFC.
Being with the Titans gives Tannehill a chance to replicate his success. Derrick Henry is back after leading the NFL in rushing behind an offensive line that returns four of five starters, with right tackle the exception.
Henry is another player who faces the challenge of proving he didn't have just one great year with his 1,540 rushing yards.
The first-time Pro Bowl back carried 303 times, followed by another 83 carries in the playoffs for the kind of load that can take a toll. Henry spent his offseason training to become stronger and better, and he even found a steep hill in Dallas to test himself.
Henry, who also received a new contract, has simple goals for his follow-up season.
"Continue to try to elevate my game each time I step on the field ...," Henry said. "That will always be my focus."
AP photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack / Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles, who fumbled on the play on Dec. 1, 2019, in Jacksonville, Fla.SHAQ BARRETT
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker has to prove he's not a one-year phenom after leading the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019. Barrett never had more than 5.5 sacks in a single season before, making the way he took down quarterbacks so surprising. He might benefit from simply being a full-time starter after making only 15 starts total in his previous five seasons with the Denver Broncos. The Bucs sure didn't want to risk losing Barrett, using the franchise tag to keep him around.
JAMEIS WINSTON
Perhaps an odd choice given that he lost his job with the Bucs, but he led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards last season. Now he's backing up New Orleans Saints star Drew Brees, and the only way he can lead the league again in 2020 would be if Brees gets hurt and misses most of the season. On the plus side, that also should keep Winston from leading the NFL again in interceptions after having 30 last season. Brees' backup in 2019, Teddy Bridgewater, won all five of his starts, so the personnel is on hand if Winston has to step in.
RAHEEM MOSTERT
The running back who turned in an NFC championship game performance for the ages capitalized on his play with a new contract. Now Mostert, who ran for only 303 yards in his first four seasons combined with five teams - he mostly played on special teams - must show he's the guy who ran for 220 yards and four scores in the San Francisco 49ers' win over the Green Bay Packers in January. Mostert averaged 6.34 yards per carry in the playoffs, an increase from the 5.64 yards he averaged during the regular season. But he has had only one 100-yard rushing game in his career outside of that monster performance against the Packers.
MINKAH FITZPATRICK
The safety made an impressive debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers with a career-high five interceptions in 2019 after Miami traded him away after the second week of the season. The Dolphins used the No. 11 draft pick overall on Fitzpatrick out of Alabama, and he had two picks as a rookie.
ANTHONY HARRIS
The safety went without an interception through his first three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, but Harris did pick off three passes in 2018 before he had a career season with six interceptions in 2019. It helped that he started 14 games, the most of any season in his career. The Vikings bet merely a franchise tag that Harris can do that again.