Titans to start QB Will Levis against Steelers after ruling out Ryan Tannehill due to ankle injury
Ryan Tannehill went down with an ankle injury in Week 6 and has been sidelined ever since
Will Levis will get to run it back on Thursday.
The Tennessee Titans officially ruled out starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill for Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to an ankle injury. Levis will start for the Titans for a second straight week after his incredible debut.
Tannehill went down due to a right ankle sprain in the Titans’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6 in London, and he hasn’t played since. He has been walking around the facility on his own and making progress on his rehab, but he’s not ready to go just yet. With the Titans on a short week between Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons and Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh, there wasn’t much time for Tannehill to get fully healthy and back into the mix.
So the Titans will stick with Levis, who looked great in his debut last week. He went 19-of-29 for 238 yards and four touchdowns in his debut, three of which went to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Levis led the Titans to a 28-23 win over the Falcons, which snapped a two-game losing skid. He also doubled Tannehill’s passing touchdowns mark in one outing, which is all the more reason to keep him on the field.
The Titans took Levis in the second round of the draft earlier this year out of Kentucky, but he failed to beat Malik Willis for the backup job to start the season. But when Willis continued to struggle and Tannehill got hurt, Levis jumped in perfectly. He’s just the third player in NFL history to record four touchdown passes in his NFL debut and the fifth in league history with at least 20 attempts and a passer rating of at least 130 in his first game.
The Titans will take on Kenny Pickett and the Steelers on Thursday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are bringing back both defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, who had been out since their season opener due to a groin injury, and quarterback Kenny Pickett for the matchup. Pickett went down last week due to a rib injury but said he is “playing for sure.”
“Going into that loud stadium, it’s a big-time environment,” Levis said Tuesday, via ESPN. “We’re ready to handle it, and I’m just looking forward to going and taking it all in and then just doing my thing.”
