Tennessee traded up for Levis in 2023 hoping he'd succeed Ryan Tannehill, but turnovers, inconsistency and organizational upheaval prevented him from establishing himself.
By PAUL KUHARSKY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Will Levis’ time as a Titan has come to an end. He will be waived today.
The Titans traded up to take the Kentucky quarterback with the first pick of the second round in 2023 and hoped he would be Ryan Tannehill’s successor. But poor decision-making too often offset his big arm. He also got caught up in the Titans' instability, playing for Mike Vrabel and Brian Callahan before trying to impress Robert Saleh in his final camp.
He started 21 games, and the Titans won just five of those. He threw 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions while losing 10 fumbles.
After his second season, a full year as the starter, the Titans drafted Cam Ward first overall and Levis elected to have season-ending shoulder surgery just before the start of training camp, missing the 2025 season.
Saturday night after he played the first half of the Titans’ preseason finale against the Bears, he didn’t want to talk as if things were over, but he did speak broadly about his time with the Titans.
“Very grateful,” he said. “Very, very grateful. I mean, Ms. Amy brought me in here and welcomed me with open arms as well as everyone else here in Nashville and the team. I was able to grow a lot just throughout the couple seasons I’ve had while I was playing here and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
The Titans signed Mitch Trubisky, who’s worked with Brian Daboll before, to be Ward’s chief backup, and hoped Levis might stir some trade interest. But there was none during the draft and his camp and preseason play did nothing to change that.
Injuries can shift the backup quarterback depth market at any time, but current odds suggest he will start out on a practice squad elsewhere.
He had success working with Liam Cohen at Kentucky, and Cohen is now coach of the Jaguars. Jacksonville just traded for Quin Ewers.
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