What is the Will Levis injury situation?
The Tennessee Titans suffered a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 7. Mason Rudolph was the quarterback in this game, replacing Will Levis who was out with a shoulder injury. After the 34-10 loss, head coach Brian Callahan spoke about why Levis did not play and what the future of the quarterback position is in Tennessee. Turron Davenport of ESPN captured this part of the press conference.
“His mechanics were not where they needed to be. His arm strength felt weakened, didn't feel great. So we limited him on Wednesday to try and see if he could come back on Thursday and go,” Callahan said. “He went full Thursday with pads on, I had him throw every throw we could possibly throw. Every downfield throw, all over the place in practice. He came out of that practice and didn't feel great.”
Callahan continued by saying he was limited on Friday and it was determined on Saturday that Rudolph would be the quarterback. Levis got hurt in the Week 4 win over the Dolphins and Rudolph played most of that game. Callahan said that after the bye week, he felt better but re-aggravated the injury against the Colts.
The Titans' quarterback play has been very poor this year and has cost them multiple games. Rudolph was swarmed by the Bills' defense this week and Tennessee is now 1-5.
Is the Will Levis experiment ending for the Titans?
The Titans drafted Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft to replace Ryan Tannehill. While he was not a top-shelf prospect, they believed that Mike Vrabel could unlock something in the Kentucky product. Despite some solid numbers from Levis in a 6-11 season, they fired Vrabel and hired Callahan.
Brian Callahan was the offensive coordinator for the Bengals from 2019-2023 and is a first-time head coach. Despite his lack of experience at the top position, he knows what a franchise quarterback looks like. He led Joe Burrow and the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 2021 and was hired to do the same with Levis. It appears that Levis is not that guy, as he has turned the ball over a lot this season.
While the season is still young. things are looking bleak for the Titans' playoff chances. If Levis is not their guy at quarterback, they should consider drafting someone else next season. By re-setting the quarterback clock, Callahan can solidify his job security and get his hands on a promising prospect.
