Titans rookie QB Will Levis will reportedly start on Thursday vs. Steelers
It's no surprise that Will Levis will start again for the Tennessee Titans on Thursday. It's a short week, starter Ryan Tannehill is still healing from an ankle injury and Levis had a spectacular debut on Sunday.
The real question is what happens over the rest of the season.
It would seem there's no real reason for the Titans to turn back after seeing what Levis did in his NFL debut. Levis threw four touchdowns and helped the Titans to a 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. In Tannehill's six games this season, he had two passing touchdowns. On Monday morning, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Levis will start again Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sunday seemed like a changing of the guard at quarterback for the Titans, though we'll see what happens when Tannehill is healthy. Assuming he's still with the Titans.
Will the Titans move on from Ryan Tannehill?
This week is the NFL trading deadline, and Tannehill's name has been floated a few times. He'll be a free agent after the season and is one of the few quarterbacks that could help a team in need like the Minnesota Vikings, who lost Kirk Cousins to an Achilles injury. It's complicated in many ways to trade a quarterback during the season, especially with one who's injured, but it's a possibility.
Levis' remarkable debut might make it easier for the Titans to explore trade talks. Why go back to a 35-year-old Tannehill, who hasn't been effective this season, when you've seen your second-round pick break out in his first NFL game?
Levis will need to keep playing well, starting with Thursday night's game against a good Steelers defense. Not taking anything away from Levis' debut, but there will be much more challenging opponents than the Falcons defense coming up. If Tannehill is still around and Levis has a couple bad games, it will be tempting to go back to the safe veteran.
Or it's possible that we saw Levis win the job permanently on Sunday. He played better than Tannehill has this season, and it's not like Tannehill is the future.
Will Levis makes an impression
Levis was a popular name leading up to the NFL Draft. His big arm and athleticism along with his sometimes inconsistent play at Kentucky made him a polarizing prospect. He fell out of the first round of the draft, and the quarterback-needy Titans traded up to get him in the second round.
Levis didn't beat out Malik Willis for the backup job, but when Tannehill injured his ankle and Willis continued his struggles as an NFL passer, the Titans let Levis have a start. It went as well as anyone could have hoped. Levis was aggressive passing downfield and ended up with 238 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a 130.5 passer rating. According to the Titans, Levis is the third player in NFL history with four touchdown passes in his NFL debut, joining Fran Tarkenton and former Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. Levis was the fifth player in NFL history with at least 20 attempts and a passer rating of 130 in his first NFL game, joining Nick Mullens, Tarkenton, Robert Griffin III and Marc Bulger.
It was a remarkable debut for Levis, with more to come. The unresolved question, which might get answered early this week, is whether that was the end of Tannehill's run as Tennessee's starting quarterback.
