Fresh off shoulder surgery and fighting for his roster spot, the former starter issues a defiant challenge to the league despite the Titans drafting his replacement.
The Tennessee Titans have had a complicated relationship with quarterback Will Levis, to say the least.
The team used a second-round draft pick on him in 2023 after playing college football at Penn State and Kentucky.
He got his first NFL start in Week 9 of his rookie year against the Atlanta Falcons and threw for 238 passing yards with four touchdowns. He started nine games that season and ended with 1,808 passing yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
Unfortunately, the Titans didn't make the playoffs, and head coach Mike Vrabel was fired as a result. The franchise then hired Brian Callahan, and Levis was the starter for the 2024 season.
The honeymoon phase wore off pretty quickly with Levis that year. He continued to make head-scratching mistakes on a weekly basis. One of the more memorable ones was the pick-six he threw to Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson in the season opener.
Levis was about to take a sack, and as he was going to the ground, he decided to shovel pass the ball to avoid it. Instead, the ball wound up in the arms of Stevenson, who returned it for a touchdown, which was the decisive score in a 24-17 loss.
The quarterback did the "surrender cobra" in reaction to his interception.
Levis' second year in the NFL didn't go quite as planned, as he missed multiple games due to an AC Joint injury, which he played through rather than having surgery during the season.
He finished with 2,091 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The Titans made it clear that they were moving on from Levis after drafting Cam Ward No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. Levis missed all of last season due to shoulder surgery and is currently battling for his spot on the roster in training camp.
It looks like this could be the end of Levis' Titans career, but he is still just as confident as ever. At Saturday's press conference, he made a bold statement.
When asked if he believed he could still be a starter in this league, he said that he didn't think there were 32 NFL quarterbacks better than him.
"100 percent," Levis said. "I know I'm, you know, I think there are not 32 quarterbacks in this league better than me. I know that for sure."
It seems that Levis isn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
The Titans have been in this position before with Malik Willis.
Willis started three games in 2022 and was then traded to the Green Bay Packers, where he's been Jordan Love's backup for the last two seasons.
Willis has become a better player and is now being given a chance to start at quarterback for the Miami Dolphins.
Head coach Robert Saleh has stated in the past that he wants to get every quarterback playing time in the preseason.
If Levis doesn't do enough to make this team, it would be interesting to see what franchise takes a chance on him based on his preseason tape.
Levis' fate may come down to how many quarterbacks the Titans want to keep on the active roster.
