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The Tennessee Titans Quarterback Conundrum

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis

Sunday afternoon marked the first time enigmatic quarterback Will Levis was benched for performance-related reasons and not because of injury. Head coach Brian Callahan stated as much during his post-game press conference. The young signal caller’s performance against two of the league’s worst defenses has caused alarm bells to ring in Nashville. Levis isn’t a problem solver yet in the formative stages of his career. He exacerbates them at this stage, adding to the Titans’ litany of issues. Can the Tennessee Titans bring him back, or does it have to let him go to remove themselves from their quarterback conundrum?

The Tennessee Titans Quarterback Conundrum

The Titans and Bengals matched witless play for most of the afternoon with ten turnovers and innumerable penalties, resulting in some meme-worthy plays that surprisingly did not involve the Meme King himself.

Not to be outdone by the iconic Joe Burrow’s antics, Levis threw multiple interceptions, including a ghastly pick-six.

The fun did not end for both teams; however, as the Bengals’ safety, Jordan Battle, broke the cardinal rule of defensive scoring, social media was up in arms once more.

After the pick-six thrown by Levis, Titans coach Brian Callahan had seen enough of gutwrenching and mind-blowing memes and benched him for Mason Rudolph.

The Point of No Return

Unlike the revitalization of Bryce Young in Carolina, the point of no return was breached under Coach Callahan’s auspices. Levis did show signs of progress after returning from his recurrent injury. However, his performance during the last two games against two bad defenses doesn’t augur a bright future. Mason Rudolph displayed far more competence in his appearances. He logged 209 yards and two touchdowns in moving the offense down the field more efficiently.

Callahan was less ebullient in defending his young passer in his post-game press conference than in prior media availabilities. On top of his in-game gestures towards Levis in past games this season, this signifies a coach ready to move on to his hand-picked successor. Reportedly, Levis wasn’t informed by his head coach of the benching but by the quarterbacks’ coach.

What’s Next?

While it remains to be determined whether Callahan will permanently bench Levis, his time in Nashville appears to be over as the answer. There is no returning to the former Kentucky product if Callahan wants to remain employed in 2025. Effectively, with Levis’s inconsistent performances from last season and his medical history, his days as a starter are finished. There was hope this season and a definitive need to find answers to the Levis question. Despite the incremental progress, the question has been answered quite emphatically in the negative. The team invested significant resources surrounding Levis to help him develop, but this has not happened.

Tennessee has three games remaining to close out the lackluster inevitability of the 2024 season. They face AFC South rivals in all three, going on the road to face the Colts and Jaguars before ending the doomed initiative against the division-champion Texans. Many challenging questions will have to be asked of GM Ran Carthon and HC Brian Callahan. It’s possible that one or both may not return for 2025.

What Are The Options?

Free Agents

Veteran players such as Sam Darnold, Russell Wilson, and Jameis Winston are scheduled to populate the free agent market in the offseason. Darnold is playing like a standout in Minnesota and will be highly sought after and expensive. Wilson has thrived as a starter in Pittsburgh after an acrimonious departure from Denver last season. Winston is well, Winston in every facet of his game with the Cleveland Browns. There’s also the looming specter of Kirk Cousins looming should the Falcons decide to move on. The options aren’t nearly as attractive as they were in years past.

The Draft

According to Tankathon, Tennessee is slated to select sixth overall, which puts them within striking range of a passer like Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, or Jalen Milroe (should he declare). However, Tennessee could also eschew the quarterback position in the first round entirely and pursue a middle- to bottom-tier quarterback like Quinn Ewers, Drew Allar, Kurtis Rourke, Dillon Gabriel, or Jaxson Dart. There are various ways to replace Levis, but they must replace Levis as soon as possible.

Main Photo: [Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean] – USA Today Sports

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