One of the bigger headlines coming out of the Tennessee Titans’ preseason opener on Thursday night was the performance of the team’s respective backup quarterbacks, Logan Woodside and Malik Willis.
For Malik Willis, it was about as good of a performance as the Titans could have hoped for. Sure, there were mistakes, but the rookie flashed his impressive arm and athleticism throughout.
Willis completed 6-of-11 passes for 107 yards, while also adding five carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. Tennessee scored twice (touchdown and field goal) with Willis under center.
And then it was Woodside’s turn. The veteran quarterback failed to put points on the board despite completing 14-of-24 passes for 102 yards. To make matters worse, he tossed a pair of interceptions.
All in all, it was a major victory for Willis, who shined over his competition for the No. 2 quarterback job. However, as Vrabel rightly notes, there is still work to be done.
“These are great opportunities,” Vrabel said of Willis, per Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “There’s a fine line in standing in there and climbing the pocket and using some of those drills that they are working every single day, and being able to progress through, and then there’s times where we are going to want him to go and be an athlete.
“There’s some things we have to work on certainly with the timing and what he is seeing when those throws depend on it, and then there’s other times I thought he really made some nice plays down the field and kept his eyes down the field.”
One of Woodside’s two interceptions was on a target to wide receiver Terry Godwin. Vrabel spread the blame around on that one and didn’t put it all on Woodside.
“There’s a of lot people who have to be better on that particular play,” Vrabel said of Woodside’s interception. “It starts with the decision. If you go over there and don’t like it, then just try and check the ball down. But the receiver, we don’t want him to release inside and then we just make a decision and try and compete and do everything we can to not get that ball intercepted.”
Despite the struggles Woodside saw in his first preseason game of 2022, Vrabel believes he’ll turn it around.
“One of the strengths that Logan has had has been his command of the offense, and his decisions,” Vrabel said. “And I would anticipate that is going to improve from what it was [Thursday] night.”
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Woodside over the past few years, it’s to never count him out in a backup quarterback competition. However, he’s also never had the kind of competition Willis is providing right now.
After one preseason game, it’s clear the rookie is the superior player in more ways than one, and that could force Tennessee to abandon keeping Woodside as the buffer between Willis and the field in 2022.
Woodside will have his next opportunity to right the ship in a preseason Week 2 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 20.
