Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Mike Moraitis

Titans confirm Malik Willis won backup QB job over Will Levis

After head coach Mike Vrabel was unnecessarily secretive about it for far too long, the Tennessee Titans revealed on Sunday that second-year quarterback Malik Willis has won the backup job over rookie signal-caller Will Levis.

Did the Titans come out and directly announce it? No, but we were able to draw that conclusion from their list of inactives, which included Levis and not Willis.

An offer for Titans fans

For the best local Nashville news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to The Tennessean.
Buy Titans Tickets

While Levis is listed as inactive, he will still dress as the third quarterback thanks to a new rule that allows teams to carry an emergency signal-caller without having them count toward the limit of active players.

He can only play if both Ryan Tannehill and Willis get hurt, though.

Willis winning the job isn’t much of a surprise at this point. Levis missed time in training camp and the final two preseason games due to injury, and Willis showed a ton of improvement throughout the offseason.

That said, the gap between Willis and Levis wasn’t exactly huge, so there’s still a chance that Levis passes Willis on the depth chart at some point.

But for now, Willis will be the first man off the bench if Tannehill gets hurt, which, of course, we hope never happens.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.