Much changes for an NFL team when its starting quarterback is facing injury. Such is the case for the Tennesee Titans as they navigate the possibility of QB Ryan Tannehill having to miss time due to his ankle injury. It’s never easy for any team to lose their starting quarterback for any amount of time, and when it happens, sometimes teams are forced to get creative.
Tannehill is the unquestioned starting QB for the Titans, and as the team prepares for the possibility of having to play without him, Tennessee is readying to use not one, but two QBs in his potential absence.
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Tennessee Titans Readying Both Malik Willis and Will Levis To Play
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel met with reporters on Tuesday and confirmed that if the team were to be without Tannehill, both Malik Willis and Will Levis would have a role in his absence. The answer comes on the heels of the news that Tannehill was not scheduled to practice with the team on Tuesday due to the ankle injury.
Titans’ HC Mike Vrabel told reporters that he expects both QBs, Malik Willis and Will Levis, to play against the Falcons if Ryan Tannehill doesn’t. Tannehill is not practicing today due to an ankle injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 24, 2023
Vrabel met with the media on Tuesday and spoke about the matter candidly. “[Tannehill] won’t practice today, and we’ll see where he is at the end of the week. And I would imagine if Ryan can’t play, I would anticipate both those quarterbacks playing in the football game.”
The idea of readying two quarterbacks to play in the starter’s absence is not a foreign one, but the idea that both are preparing to have a sizeable impact on the game is truly unique. The old adage, “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none,” comes to mind here, as one way to look at the situation is that Vrabel doesn’t have complete confidence in either guy to handle the job.
That may not be the case, though, as Vrabel may be keeping his options open. It’s early in the week, and it can’t hurt to get both guys ready just in case.
Willis and Levis Playing History
To date, neither Willis nor Levis has an extensive body of work in the NFL. Willis is in his second season and only has eight appearances and three career starts under his belt. He is 1-2 in those three games, all coming last season in his rookie year.
MORE: Tennessee Titans Depth Chart
As for Levis, the rookie out of Kentucky has never appeared in an NFL game, and as we sit here on Tuesday, Vrabel looks determined to get him ready to go for his first NFL action on Sunday.
With neither having much to work with as far as experience goes, though unconventional, it’s not necessarily a bad idea for the Titans to explore how they can get the best of both QBs, and it’s a storyline worth monitoring all week long.