Shoulder shrug? Will Levis’ quiet exit from Titans QB competition sets up his next move

So much for the quarter competition in Tennessee.

Titans of Tennessee entered the training camp believing that there would be a quarter competition with the overall choice n ° 1 Cameron Ward and the old choice of second round Will Levis. These plans fell to the edge of the road on Monday while the Titans announced that Levis underwent surgery from the shoulder season.Returning the post to Ward essentially, which would have at least benefited from the thrust during the training camp.

“We support [Levis’] Decision to focus on long -term health, “said the titans in a statement.” He approached the off -season with professionalism and has shown clear growth as a leader. We remain confident in its complete recovery. “”

Surgery of the shoulder is certainly an interesting development for Levis, which underwent an AC joint in the same shoulder to launch last season, but which had just participated in the Minicamp Titans with an apparently zero worsening of the injury. Levis missed several games in 2024 with shoulder injury. He launched for 13 affected at 12 interceptions for 2,091 years. His QBR was 27.8, which ranked n ° 32 in the NFL. He lost five escapes on the disappointing second year campaign, which claimed a lot of hope that he could flourish in a racing freelancer and pistol.

The fact that we are on the Titans training camp without any noise on an injury during the mini -camp – “I feel good,” said Levis to journalists last month – makes sudden surgery feel particularly out of the left field. A conspiracy theorist would say that it is a decision to save the face before embarking on a QB battle that he was probably intended to lose – the one that sets up a fairly obvious bet.

Was Levis to win the quarter-Arrière post?

There was always a chance for Levis to win the post, but given the recent success of the top-2 of the quarters in the last two seasons, Levis winning the post was a long. The panthers immediately started Bryce Young, just like the Texans with CJ Stroud (Stroud won the recruit of the year). The Bears and Commanders did the same with Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels last season (Daniels won Roy).

Ward should have beat Levis for work, but we expected him to do this according to his draft status as a n ° 1 choice and the titans offensive struggling with Levis and Mason Rudolph throughout last season. The 2025 season represents a reset for the franchise with Ward.

Levis alternated the representatives of the first team with Ward at Minicamp, and this would probably have been the case in the training camp and the pre-season until a quarterrier takes control of the work. The Titans would surely have preferred Ward to win the post.

Does Levis have a future in Tennessee?

In short, not as a starting quarter. This makes shoulder surgery so late in was precarious. Levis fully participated in the OTA and the Minicamp without any problem reported on his shoulder, but would have suffered discomfort during the mini-camp and asked for a second opinion. The result is surgery at the end of the season of Levis more time to heal throughout 2025 in the hope of a complete recovery next season, which would be the last year of his recruit contract in Nashville.

Would he have told Levis to play this season and compete for the position? It depends on the importance of the shoulder injury and how the injury was recurrent, probably not. A new start with a healing shoulder could therefore a little good because he is looking for an opportunity to start elsewhere.

The chapter seems to be closed in Tennessee, which could have said the right things when he announced the News News, but cannot be delighted with his quarter depth on the eve of the training camp is now a recruit and Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle, and he cannot be happy that Levis has never increased his commercial value again.

A similar situation that Levis has already faced?

Levis was a quarter-Arrière which increased the tables of the draft since the transfer of Penn State to Kentucky in 2021, and was a first-rate choice projected in the draft before falling at the top of the second round in n ° 33 in total. The titans exchanged to obtain it.

Although Levis was not a first -round choice, he was selected at the top of the second round for a reason. Being the overall choice n ° 33 generally means that a franchise will give a player a longer leash as a starter, but the previous director general (Ran Carthon) and the head coach (Mike Vrabel) are no longer in Tennessee.

This situation is similar to that confronted with Penn State in 2019 and 2020. Joe Moorhead was the attacking coordinator when Penn State recruited Levis, but Moorhead then left to take the job of head coach at Mississippi State. Ricky Rahne took over the offensive coordinator Reins and Penn State named Sean Clifford the starter, and Clifford won 11 games while doing nothing to lose the post against Levis. When Rahne left and the new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca kept Levis as a quarter of a race behind Clifford, Levis trusted his talent and was transferred to Kentucky for an opportunity to start. He prospered.

Levis bet on itself once and it has borne fruit. This is perhaps the reflection process to get out of Tennessee: go to an offense that suits its skills.

What is Levis’ CAP situation?

Levis is in the third year of a four -year recruit contract which he signed in 2023. The contract was worth $ 9.5 million, with $ 8.7 million in guarantees. It transports a number of ceiling of $ 2.6 million in 2025 and $ 3 million in 2026. The Titans would only save $ 632,000 in the ceiling space if they exchanged this year, but $ 2 million if they traded before the 2026 season – so the treatment of next levis would be better for Booth Levis and the franchise.

Remember that Levis is only 26 years old and he has a year left on his recruit contract after this season.

What is the next step for Levis?

Levis almost certainly took his last shot as a Titan.

The Titans insisted that in April, they were not going to exchange Levis, citing its value as a competitor for Ward and a stabilizing force in the quarter-Arrière room. A strong Levis camp has stimulated its commercial value; The Titans would have welcomed any remuneration for a quarter-tree which they had already been published publicly.

Shoulder surgery eliminate this lever effect. Its value drops. And when Tennessee ends up shopping it, they will market a quarter of a quarter that they have chosen to replace.

If Ward shines in 2025, Levis will want to go out – strong. If Ward is struggling, the titans will want some more reliable behind him as an Andy Dalton type stabilizer. Anyway, the decision was made in April when the Titans drafted Ward. The Levis camp has just attacked it.