There's just something about Tennessee Titans quarterbacks raised in New England who struggled so publicly in their first seasons as starters that they went into the next year expecting to be benched.
Quarterback Will Levis finds himself in this exact predicament as the Titans prepare for 2025. Whether the Titans use the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to replace him with someone younger or use the free agent market to find someone more experienced, it's tough to imagine Levis heading into his third pro season as the Titans' expected starter after throwing 13 touchdowns with 12 interceptions and 10 fumbles in 2024.
Former Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck can relate. In 2001, Hasselbeck's first year as starter with the Seattle Seahawks, he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and was benched for veteran Trent Dilfer in the heart of a playoff hunt. He went into 2002 expecting to back up Dilfer, and likely would've were it not for a Dilfer injury. Hasselbeck showed signs of improvement in 2002 and by 2003 broke out to lead the Seahawks to the playoffs five straight years with three Pro Bowl berths and one Super Bowl appearance.
"I saw (Levis) last night, talked to him last night," Hasselbeck told The Tennessean from radio row at Super Bowl 59 on Friday. "What I told him last night is however you think this year went for you, I can promise you my first year starting went way worse... Not that our situations are the same, but I lost my job. I made sure that I was more ready when I got my next opportunity.
"Fortunately I was able to never look back. I think in my playing career I learned from other people’s story and I just tried to give my story as an encouragement."
Levis is the Titans' only quarterback under contract at the moment. The team's likeliest quarterback options with the No. 1 pick are Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, two prospects who Titans coach Brian Callahan has had positive things to say about in the pre-draft process. The Titans will also have their opportunity to pursue free agent starter Sam Darnold, most recently of the Minnesota Vikings, and could be monitoring potential free agent veterans such as Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
Tennessee Titans QB battle: Will Levis replacement in NFL draft?
The Titans hired former Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi as their new GM this offseason, placing him beneath president of football operations Chad Brinker in the corporate structure. Both Borgonzi and Brinker are descendants of the Ron Wolf executive tree, named for the Hall of Fame executive who revitalized the Green Bay Packers in the 1990s.
Hasselbeck spent most of his career playing for executives and coaches who learned under Wolf, and says one of the true consistencies in their approaches is one that makes it impossible to rule Levis out, at least at first.
"The Ron Wolf way, the Packer way, the Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid way is ‘we’re always going to over-invest in the (quarterback) position,'" Hasselbeck said. "...Not everyone does it that way. A lot of teams say ‘We’re going to pay one guy a ton of money and have one backup and hope the starter never gets hurt. We’ll go buy a starter some day if we have to.’ It’s just a different mindset.
"I know the plan when I originally came to Tennessee was ‘Hey, you be the starter, we’re going to draft Jake Locker as a top-10 pick.’ We didn’t stick to that plan. But I think the people that have a plan and stick to the plan are the teams that have sustained success."
Think Reid drafting Patrick Mahomes with Alex Smith still on roster. Think the Packers drafting Rodgers while Brett Favre was still under contract and then drafting Jordan Love with Rodgers in the midst of an MVP run. Think, even, Hasselbeck being pushed into a competition with Dilfer.
If the Titans are devoting themselves to this model, don't expect a one-quarterback solution to the team's problems.
