NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Titans quarterbacks finished throwing to all their pass catchers and it was time to flip the drill. Will Levis put his head down and sprinted to join the receivers and tight ends he had just helped lead down the field with passes.
Token gesture or meaningful moment?
I don’t want to make a big deal out of it, but it was something. And JC Latham thought so too.
“It’s definitely notable,” Latham said. “He’s setting the tone. You’ve got guy on the field showing a sense of urgency in between drills and not just walking around and moping. Everybody could, everybody would understand if, ‘Hey Will is upset’ or he’s pouty because we drafted a quarterback with the No. 1 pick, but he’s obviously not doing that. It shows a lot of maturity with him, his mindset and his growth.”
Levis did well facing questions for the first time since the Titans drafted Cam Ward. He said the build-up to the selection gave him plenty of time to come to terms with it.
“I think anyone who’s ever been in my situation can agree that is sucks,” he said. “I’m just trying to do everything that I can to not let it affect me. Just being the same dude every day in the building. Being here for the guys however I can.”
And if he’s the backup, does he have the mindset to change in the necessary ways?
“I haven’t been a backup in a while,” he said. “I don’t plan on shifting my mindset regardless of what the situation is, so I’m just going to be ready to play quarterback whenever my name is called.”
How that manifests could determine his fate. I believe the team's concern is that he won’t handle being a No. 2 here well after starting 21 games for two coaches over the last two seasons. I think the Titans will ultimately look to trade him because they fear too much of an alpha personality in a backup and because they don’t trust him, and I understand those rationales.
But I’m running against the vast majority, it feels like, in thinking he’s the team’s second-best quarterback and that, barring him becoming an issue, a thin team would be wise to keep its best talent behind Cam Ward. Shipping out Malik Willis last year backfired when he came back as the Packers' backup and beat the Titans at Nissan Stadium.
Yes, Levis turned the ball over in some ridiculous ways last year. But as Ward stands to benefit from an improved offensive line and a better pool of receivers, so would Levis. And this concept that Brandon Allen, who worked with Brian Callahan in Cincinnati, is some sort of safety blanket because he knows the system is nonsense to me. (Levis also knows the system.)
Sure, tradition says have a safe No. 2 who can manage and not lose a game while you lean on the run game and defense.
Well, Allen’s numbers do not suggest he’ll be that at all.
|
QB |
Comp |
TD |
INT |
yds/att |
Fum |
Rating |
|
Levis |
61.0 |
21 |
16 |
7.0 |
17 |
82.7 |
|
Allen |
56.7 |
11 |
8 |
6.2 |
4 |
76.2 |
Yes, we know Levis has been a turnover machine, making giveaway-risky plays at an alarming rate.
He’s been intercepted or fumbled 33 times in 1,150 snaps – 2.87 percent of the time.
Allen’s been intercepted or fumbled 12 times in 615 snaps – 1.95 percent of the time.
For 0.92 percent, I don’t see choosing a guy with no great traits for a guy with an electric arm who will be seven years younger on opening day.
"Will’s been great,” Nick Holz said. “He’s handled the new situation. He knew at the end of the season that the QB room wasn’t just going to stay the exact same, that there was going to be competition. I give him a lot of credit on two fronts. He went out and worked his tail off. He went out to California and really honed in on some things and was really diligent and focused on the things he wanted to improve…
“And then attitude-wise, he’s a good dude, he’s a good teammate and so there’s really been no change in him in that regard and I give him a lot of credit for that. When you draft a No. 1 pick it’s not an easy situation.”
Levis spent six weeks with quarterback guru Jordan Palmer and while the Titans aren’t going to bash him, they’ve said a lot of good things whereas they could have chosen to be tepid – as Mike Borgonzi was before the draft when he answered a question about him by basically saying he's a guy in our QB room.
The third-year QB certainly feels good about what he did with QB guru Jordan Palmer in Southern California.
"There was a lot of just relearning my stroke, relearning my body, trying to get back to the basics,” Levis said. “It definitely paid off. I’ve been feeling good… I feel more and more comfortable every day, that’s all it takes is just reps and experience. I try to take advantage of that any time that I can, to improve, and I’m just pumped about not having to learn a new offense. That’s been fun to kind of get to the level of 300, 400 of the playbook and being able to go out and run anything without even really talking about it.”
As for whether Levis would rather be somewhere else, he said he’s got no power over that.
He called Ward smart and a “heck of an athlete, a heck of a quarterback,” and talked about what a great quarterback room the Titans have with Allen and Tim Boyle in there as well.
Brian Callahan said he didn’t want people involved in the miserable 2024 season to get that taste out of their mouths but to 
remember it, and Levis is on board with that. He said nothing can surprise him now.
With Palmer, he started from scratch, literally from the ground up.
There is much to be sorted out between now and when the roster is set, for the first time, at 53 players on Aug. 27.
He strayed away from some philosophical points about how to throw the football that he’s adapted to again.
It sounds like he sees hope there, and I understand why.
He’s allowed to get better in a lesser role.