Will Levis gets real on Titans future after benching
12/18/2024 11:05 PM
The Tennessee Titans lost a sloppy game to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15. After turning the ball over a career-high four times, the Titans benched Will Levis for veteran backup Mason Rudolph. On Wednesday, Tennessee made the quarterback change official, naming Rudolph the team's starter moving forward and relegating Levis to backup duties.
Despite the bad news, the second-year passer is convinced that he'll eventually regain the starting role, according to John Glennon of the Nashville Post.
"I know that there's a positive future for me whether it's here or somewhere else… Hopefully I can show and prove I can still be the guy," Levis said after learning he'd be the Titans' backup QB for the rest of the season.
"I don't think that that's the end of the conversation… I still believe that I can be the franchise quarterback for this team. I have the utmost confidence in myself and my ability to lead any team in this league. I think this year was great development for me, and I think I truly did improve. Sure as heck don't want to go out like that," Levis added, per the Nashville Post.
Since being selected by the Titans in the second round of the 2023 draft, Levis has played 20 games. He's turned the ball over 25 times, which is tied for the sixth most in the NFL since the start of the 2023 season.
This year he's second in the league with 17 turnovers in just 11 games. He's thrown 12 interceptions, which is tied for the fourth-most, and he's lost an NFL-leading five fumbles. On Sunday, he threw his fourth pick-six of the season, which also leads the league.
Will Levis won't take his benching sitting down
Turnovers have obviously been a persistent problem for the young passer. Head coach Brian Callahan confronted the quarterback on the sideline after a reckless fumble in the red zone during a Week 2 loss to the New York Jets. A pick-six the following week already had Titans fans calling for Levis to be benched.
In addition to the turnover problems, Levis has been sacked 40 times (the fifth-most in the league), he's 33rd overall with 174.2 yards per game, while ranking 33rd in QBR and 36th in passer rating.
To be fair, Levis has improved his completion percentage. He got up to 63.7 percent before being benched this season compared to 58.4 percent in nine games last year. And his touchdown rate has also gone up. But his interception rate has skyrocketed and his sack percentage has jumped as well. Meanwhile his yards per attempt, yards per game and passer rating have all dipped in 2024.
While it's possible the team moves on from Levis permanently, Callahan made it clear the benching is only for this season as it gives the team the best chance to win. At 3-11 and long since eliminated from playoff contention, it's telling that the Titans aren't using their lost season to develop Levis, if the team still views him as its quarterback of the future.
The post Will Levis gets real on Titans future after benching appeared first on ClutchPoints.
