Levis, Trubisky to have QB2 battle

An ill-fated “second-round savior” in the 2023 Draft, now 27-year-old Levis is sent packing from the Music City with 21 starts under his belt. That included zero in 2025 as Levis missed the entire season with a shoulder injury behind No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. In theory, Levis “competed” for the backup job this summer, but journeyman free agent Mitch Trubisky was always the heavy favorite. Levis has all the physical talent in the world, but not the accuracy or processing, at least so far. It’s possible a more functional franchise could turn him in to a legit No. 2 quarterback, but that does not seem terribly likely at this point.

This is good to hear. Switching offensive systems in one’s second professional season is no easy feat. Daboll has helped develop young quarterbacks in the past. His experience in this regard is undoubtedly good for all involved. Ward is currently in the low-end QB2 tier for fantasy. Daboll also said it has been “helpful” to have QB Mitchell Trubisky in the mix, and noted that QB Will Levis “has picked up the system well.” His comments on QB Hendon Hooker were limited to Hooker having put on a “good workout.” We suspect he has an uphill battle to make the roster.

This is a logical landing spot for both sides, as Trubisky spent the 2021 season in Buffalo when the current Titans OC, Brian Daboll, was the Bills’ offensive coordinator. Trubisky hasn’t started a game since 2023, and has thrown for 492-6-0 while appearing in 13 games over the last two seasons. He’ll serve as a good mentor for Cam Ward and will be a reliable option in a pinch of Ward were to ever miss time.

Levis is one of a quintet of backups mentioned by Fowler — Tyson Bagent, Tanner McKee, Davis Mills, and Jarrett Stidham are the others — that fall under the umbrella of “teams that have better-known backups entering the final years of their contracts.” We’ve covered a few of them over the past month — especially Bagent — but haven’t stopped for a beat on Levis for a minute. Levis missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. The GM and head coach who drafted him are gone, and Cam Ward is here. It makes all the sense in the world for the Titans to move on if they can find an interested taker.

Trubisky looked pretty good in this one, but the fact that he put up these kinds of numbers has a lot more to do with just how bad the Jets were today. Trubisky threw a few turnover-worthy passes, but the Jets haven’t picked off a pass all season, so naturally they didn’t come away with one today either. The Bills will hope that they don’t have to have Trubisky take another snap again this season.

Allen is active, but the Bills are resting plenty of starters, including their left tackle, Dion Dawkins, so we’re not expecting Allen to play much at all. He is currently the NFL’s active leader in consecutive starts at 127 games (140 including the playoffs), so it’s highly likely that Allen plays one snap, or one drive, and then hands the reins over to Mitchell Trubisky.

McDermott beat around the bush regarding his MVP quarterback and whether or not we would see him on Sunday night against the Bears. Speaking Friday, McDermott said his team is using the joint practice against the Bears “to see where (Allen is) at and how he feels” and will decide later in the weekend if Allen will suit up. If Allen doesn’t play, we would expect Mitch Trubisky to draw the start and see plenty of work. Last week, Trubisky started against the Giants, throwing for 138 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-13 passing.

Just months after learning he would be replaced by No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, Levis’ 2025 will now come to an end before it even gets started. According to Rapoport, Levis “elected to have the procedure to ensure long-term health, based on medical opinions,” but should be ready to return for the 2026 season. The former No. 33 overall pick has had a tumultuous start to his NFL career, throwing for 3,899 yards, 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 21 games while also losing 17 fumbles over that span. Despite playing in just 12 games last season, Levis tied with Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins for a league-high 18 turnovers, which eventually led to the decision to bench him for Mason Rudolph. Rudolph is now in Pittsburgh, meaning veterans Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle are left to backup Ward in his rookie season. The Titans may look to add another quarterback to their roster to compete with the underwhelming duo, but there aren’t many reliable options on the market at the moment.

Titans head coach Bill Callahan did suggest that things will likely change during the next phase of the offseason training activities aka OTAs, but for now, Ward and Levis are getting equal reps. The Titans made Ward the first-overall pick of last month’s draft, and while it’s not unheard of for a highly-drafted quarterback to not begin the season as the team’s starter, it’s very hard to imagine that Ward won’t be the starter for Week 1 of the regular season. This is more of a long-term play than someone who likely has fantasy relevance in 2025, either way.

While Callahan did not explicitly state that Ward is the Week 1 starter, he is already qualifying his statements on the matter. Unless something goes terribly awry, Ward should be under center for much of training camp, and ostensibly, when Week 1 kicks off. As far as backups go, the Titans could do worse than having Levis in the No. 2 spot.