The Tennessee Titans were so excited with the work that quarterback Will Levis did last year that they drafted University of Miami QB Cam Ward first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. It was previously assumed that Ward would get the starting nod heading into the season, but now we know it for sure.
Levis decided to undergo season-ending surgery on his shoulder on Monday and will miss the entire year. So, not only will he not play for the Titans this season, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that he might not play for Tennessee ever again.
“What it means is pretty simple, Cam Ward is going to be the starting quarterback, as he was going to be the starting quarterback anyway,” Rapoport reported Monday via the New York Post. “This is more about Will Levis, his backup quarterback, and his decision after consulting with, from what I understand is, several medical professionals.”
That’s exactly what the team said in a statement, so it would make sense that that’s what Rapoport understood.
“After consulting with doctors and his representatives, Will Levis has decided to undergo shoulder surgery that will sideline him for the entire 2025 season,” the Titans announced Monday. “We support his decision to focus on his long-term health.”
Levis never quite got healthy
Levis – like many of the Titans – had a really rough year in 2024. He injured his shoulder early in the year and re-aggravated it later on. Apparently, it’s never gotten healthy.
“It sounds like [Levis’ shoulder] just never felt quite right, and the fact that he couldn’t get it to where he was throwing pain-free,” Rapoport said. “He is out for 2025 — 2026, he will likely be at full strength, it’s just hard to imagine [Levis] being with the Titans at that point … fascinating decision to leave Cam Ward all alone.”
Rapoport is most likely right.
After sliding to the second round of the 2023 draft, Levis had a rocky rookie year. He started nine games and completed 58.4% of his passes for 1,808 yards, eight touchdowns and four picks. It’s kind of amazing that the team went 3-6 in that time.
Last year wasn’t much better and provided a better sample size. He completed 63.1% of his balls for 2,091 yards, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Of course there are worse stat lines, but the Titans were 2-10 under his command.
What does the Titans’ QB room look like now?
So, obviously now Ward is the guy in Nashville. But, with Levis now out, who is left?
Right now, the team also has Tim Boyle and Brandon Allen on the roster.
Boyle is 30-years old and was an undrafted free agent of the Green Bay Packers in 2018. So, much credit for playing this long in the NFL, but this probably isn’t someone that can carry you to some wins should Ward go down for a stretch of time. Allen is 32-years old and has started 10 games in his nine-year career.
The Titans were thin at quarterback before Levis opted for surgery. Now? They are going to need to scour the waiver wire or kick some tires and see who is available by trade.
No to Kirk Cousins, don’t even think about it. He has a no-trade clause, wants to start and already has the exact same situation in Atlanta. He’d rather not move his kids to a new school for that. How about the Cleveland Browns? Titans’ general manager Mike Borgonzi could probably call them and have his pick of anyone not named Shedeur. And will the New York Giants really hold onto Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston?
It remains to be seen what the Titans do and it’s early; this just happened. But, it would be difficult to see them doing absolutely nothing and going into the season with the current quarterback group.
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