Tongue swinging/grabbing items

Hello, I’m going to be creating a character with a tongue that can latch onto points to swing and also pull items into his mouth. I’ve watched a few tutorials and I’m not quite sure how to handle the tongue, as in do I model the actual tongue or use cable component but if I use cable component how do I shape it into the tongue I want and if I use a tongue mesh how do I get it to be as flexible as cable comp?

Sorry if this is a silly question I’m not very technically minded but I’m trying.

Thanks!