Tennessee Titans, Mike Vrabel Undecided On Malik Willis Or Will Levis To Replace Injured Ryan Tannehill

Published|Updated

Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill suffered an injury during the team's loss in London to the Baltimore Ravens. Backup quarterback Malik Willis took over and completed 4-of-5 passes but took four sacks. That performance, apparently, isn't enough to convince head coach Mike Vrabel that he should start over rookie Will Levis.

The Titans drafted Levis in the second round of this year's NFL Draft after he slid down the draft board. Willis beat out Levis for backup duties -- barely -- behind Tannehill. Thus, Levis hasn't been active for the Titans on gameday, though he is the team's emergency third quarterback.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel won't name Malik Willis or Will Levis the starter if Ryan Tannehill's injury keeps him out.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel won't name Malik Willis or Will Levis the starter if Ryan Tannehill's injury keeps him out. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Despite the current pecking order, Vrabel was non-committal when asked which of the two players might step in for Tannehill if he can't play in Week 8 after the team's Week 7 bye week.

To be fair to Vrabel, there's no guarantee that Tannehill can't play in the team's next game. But, his injury is apparently similar to last year's which eventually ended his season.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel won't name Malik Willis or Will Levis the starter if Ryan Tannehill's injury keeps him out

Even if Ryan Tannehill can tough out the injury, it might be worth it to see what the team has in Will Levis. They know what Malik Willis can -- or rather, can't -- do. After Tannehill got hurt last season, the team turned to journeyman Josh Dobbs to start their final games while they chased an AFC South title.

That was, of course, after Willis struggled badly. He's thrown just 66 career NFL passes and completed on 53% of them with three interceptions and no touchdowns. He also has three fumbles.

Levis, meanwhile, wasn't impressive during training camp and the preseason. That's how he lost the backup QB job in the first place. The downside to playing Levis is that if he struggles -- which seems likely behind a struggling offensive line -- he might lose all confidence.

We've seen that before, particularly with young quarterbacks. At the same time, Tennessee is 2-4 on the season and don't appear headed for the playoffs. Even Vrabel admitted after this week's game that some of the team's issues might not be fixable.

That's a coach who knows he doesn't have the answers and isn't particularly inspired by his choices at quarterback.

The Titans drafted Malik Willis in the third round in 2022 and Levis in the second round last season.

With Tennessee trending towards a high pick in this year's draft, they just might make it three QBs picked in the last three years.

If the pattern holds, that means this time they might just use a first-round pick on one.

Tags
Written by
Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.