Following a disappointing loss to the Baltimore Ravens that dropped the Tennessee Titans to 2-4 on the year, many fans and media members have started to argue that it’s time to give rookie quarterback Will Levis a chance.
These feelings were amplified after Ryan Tannehill suffered another ankle injury and Malik Willis disappointed in his relief.
However, one narrative I keep seeing thrown around is something along the lines of, “If he wasn’t good enough to be No. 2 on the depth chart, what makes you think he could be the starter?”
The reality is, when exactly was Levis supposed to dethrone Willis?
The Kentucky product only played in one preseason game, a game in which he essentially alternated every other series with Willis, and neither of them ran away with the job that day.
Both had their bright spots, as well as their head-scratching moments.
3rd-and-13 throw from Will Levis goes for 21 yards and a first down. A little low but a good read and nice pump to move the defense and convert #TENvsCHI pic.twitter.com/73bbeMCawt
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) August 12, 2023
That’s to be expected from a young quarterback playing in their first-ever NFL game.
Keep in mind that Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud looked horrendous in his preseason debut, and now he looks like the clear frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
A lot of people writing off C.J Stroud after 4 passes in the preseason 🤣🤣
Can’t wait until he gets comfortable and can really showcase his talent.
— Nick Schwager (@NickSchwagerNFL) August 11, 2023
Meanwhile, Anthony Richardson also severely struggled in his first game, but he ended up looking really good before his season-ending shoulder injury.
So that begs another question: why are we suddenly writing off Levis as if it’s impossible that he’s improved since his lone appearance in a preseason game?
As long as Willis looked competent in his preseason outings — which, to his credit, he did — the backup job was going to be his.
And even after that, the Titans remained hesitant to give him the job, initially listing both as the No. 2 quarterback even though Levis was essentially non-existent toward the end of August.
Then, once we got to the regular season, the practice reps for a backup quarterback are essentially non-existent outside of running scout team.
Head coach Mike Vrabel admitted that the team is changing the verbiage of the plays the young signal-callers practice to, at least, somewhat replicate their offense as much as possible, but they’re still only running another team’s offense.
Mike Vrabel said the #Titans have developed Will Levis & Malik Willis by having them call the plays the way their offense would instead of just reading plays off a card. They also work after practice w/the practice squad WRs on executing the game plan up and doen the field.
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) October 16, 2023
So, again, how was Levis supposed to pass Willis?
For the most part, players already don’t want to practice on the scout team, largely because they’re often just replicating other players and schemes instead of playing their own game.
Those feelings would only be amplified if the reps were going to be used against them when evaluating job security. It would set a bad precedent that they could lose their job by simply trying to help out the team’s defense.
We’re not talking about some fringe practice squad player getting replaced; these are two quarterbacks the team invested Day 2 picks in. Both were always going to be given a chance to win the backup job, but Levis’ quadriceps injury essentially made the decision for Tennessee.
In a perfect world, the Titans wouldn’t have had to show their hand or make this choice this year because Tannehill would stay healthy and lead this team to a playoff run. Unfortunately, that’s not where the team is right now.
Obviously, you would prefer for Levis to be thrown into a better situation, but sometimes that’s the hand young quarterbacks are dealt and they have to live with it.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young wasn’t exactly given a great situation to work with, yet he’s gaining valuable experience that will undoubtedly help him in the long run.
Levis also has plenty of experience with carrying an entire program on his shoulders, since that’s largely what he had to do at Kentucky when facing SEC competition while being surrounded by mostly inferior talent.
"If this doesn't say NFL, I'm not sure what does."@UKFootball OC @LiamCoen joined @JustinM_NFL
and me to break down Will Levis 2021 tape!Full 31-min Coen/Levis film breakdown (Insiders Only): https://t.co/sdpfnnNU1N pic.twitter.com/IVo0GG8tcD
— Justin Graver (@titansfilmroom) May 30, 2023
Why did Will Levis regress so much from 2021 to 2022?
He definitely owns his fair share of the blame, but to say he was surrounded by an inconsistent supporting cast would be putting it mildly #Titans pic.twitter.com/ST83E3umAI
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) May 1, 2023
However, at least he has the likes of Derrick Henry, DeAndre Hopkins, Treylon Burks and Tyjae Spears to lean on, assuming the former two don’t get traded anytime soon.
I want to see him run the play-action game that he does well at with Derrick Henry/Tyjae Spears & DeAndre Hopkins/Treylon Burks instead of whatever he was working with at Kentucky, especially in 2022.
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) October 17, 2023
The Titans desperately need some type of spark, and maybe Levis can provide that for them.
At minimum, you’ll be given objective data to work with when making your evaluation of the quarterback position ahead of a massive offseason. At this point, that matters just as much as anything else, especially if the Titans land a top draft pick.
The last thing the Titans want to do is not be more sure of Levis going into the 2024 offseason and pass up on one of the better quarterbacks in next year’s draft and watch them become superstars somewhere else.
The Titans have to give themselves the best possible chance at making the right decision next offseason, and with two weeks to prepare the rookie quarterback, it could be the perfect time to do so.
Levis wasn’t a perfect prospect by any means, but he undoubtedly has all of the physical tools you could possibly want in a franchise quarterback. He’s a big-bodied athlete who has a cannon for an arm that is capable of making every possible throw.
Say what you want about Will Levis, but it’s throws like these that make everyone intrigued despite his obvious flaws at the moment https://t.co/SREw8fjkIn pic.twitter.com/ago9zLIhn8
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) March 24, 2023
Only time will tell whether any of this will happen, but I’m strongly of the belief that we should be seeing No. 8 on the field come Week 8.
