Will Levis is back in the conversation, and not because the last two seasons left anybody with warm and fuzzy memories.
The former Tennessee Titans starter stepped to the podium at training camp and talked like a quarterback who hasn’t lost a shred of faith in himself. This was his first time addressing the media since he chose season-ending shoulder surgery last summer, and he made one thing clear: the self-belief is still intact.
“I don't need to go out there and win x-amount of games before I can feel the confidence,” Levis explained. “I have the confidence right now. I know I've put the tape out there already that I'm a dang good quarterback in this league, and I'm even better than I ever have been.
“ There are not 32 quarterbacks in this league better than me. I know that for sure.”
That kind of line was always going to travel fast. And sure enough, NFL fans and media pounced, dragging up viral screenshots and meme-filled reminders of Levis’s rough 2024 season.
The reaction said plenty about where his reputation sits right now: confidence, yes. Credibility, not so much.
That’s the tension with Levis. The personality and the arm talent are obvious.
They were part of the appeal from the start, especially during his rookie year. But the last real image most people have of him in live action is a quarterback who kept ending up in the wrong kind of highlights, helping Tennessee land the No. 1 draft choice and opening the door for Cam Ward to replace him.
There is a path, at least in theory, for a quarterback in his spot to come back from the edge. The league has seen it with Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and, as Titans fans know, Ryan Tannehill.
Those were former high picks who were left for dead by the teams that drafted them, then found cleaner situations and got a second life. Mayfield and Tannehill turned into quality starters on playoff teams, while Darnold won the Super Bowl as the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback in February.
But those stories are memorable precisely because they’re not the norm.
For most quarterbacks who flame out early, the comeback never really arrives. Levis already got the chance to show he could hold down the job, and that opportunity didn’t go well. Ideal setup or not, he didn’t stick the landing.
His situation even echoes another former Titans quarterback, Malik Willis. Willis also seemed to have no real future in Tennessee during the 2024 offseason, but he took advantage of a full offseason under then-new head coach and offensive play caller Brian Callahan, flashed in the preseason, and got dealt to the Green Bay Packers to back up Jordan Love and work with offensive guru Matt LaFleur. From there, Willis got live reps in relief of Love over two seasons in Green Bay, looked like a different player, and eventually drew another major opportunity when the Miami Dolphins signed him to a three-year, $67.5 million contract in March.
That’s the kind of road Levis would love to follow now. The best-case version of his future looks a lot like Willis’s: absorb what he can from new Titans offensive coordinator and respected quarterback whisperer Brian Daboll, make noise the rest of training camp and preseason, and force another team to see him as a backup worth betting on.
So the door isn’t shut. Not yet. Levis still has the physical tools that keep NFL teams interested, and he did have moments that popped, especially in 2023.
But the clock is ticking. If he’s truly a starting quarterback, he needs to show it soon. If he can’t, the league may move on for good, and the story that followed him out of Tennessee could become the final word.
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Will Levis path in Tennessee has shifted quickly since the Titans took him in the second round of the 2023 draft. After a rookie season that offered some promise, his 2024 struggles helped set the stage for a dramatic reset, with Tennessee using the first overall pick in 2025 on Cam Ward and later bringing in Mitch Trubisky as another option behind center.
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