The Tennessee Titans drafted Will Levis to be their franchise quarterback, but three years later, he is on the trade block. Levis stood on the sidelines all season with his arm in a sling, watching Cam Ward take his place as the organization’s unquestioned starting quarterback.

The former Kentucky gunslinger suited up for the Titans in 21 games. His teammates voted him a captain in Year 2, and his future looked bright. However, the Titans’ horrific offensive line, lack of high-quality playmakers, and overall poorly run organizational management crippled the team’s opportunity to thrive.

A Will Levis shoulder injury didn’t help either. Levis played through an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder that he suffered in September of 2024, early into his campaign as the team’s starter. The toughness this required was admirable, but the consequences, well, not so much.

The Highs and Lows of the Will Levis Experience

Tennessee Titans fans probably feel the same way about Will Levis as Kentucky fans do about Brandon Garrison. His highs are incredible, but his lows make you want to pull your hair out. He has all the physical tools to be elite and showcases them often, but the number of downright bone-headed decisions makes you question how such a dichotomy could exist in one person.

The Titans finished 3-14 in 2024, and Will Levis took most of the blame. Despite some incredible plays, including a season-best 98-yard touchdown pass, Levis’s low-lights became fuel for Internet mockery. Entire memes spun up on the still photos of Levis’s bad plays, and the former Kentucky QB went viral for all the wrong reasons.

Despite the admittedly funny still frames, his numbers were far from abysmal. He threw for 21 touchdowns in his 21 games and averaged 186 yards per contest on a 61 percent completion rate.

Nonetheless, the Titans used their No. 1 overall draft pick to move on from Levis and initiate the Cam Ward era. However, after one year in, Ward’s numbers aren’t all that different from Will Levis.

Comparing Will Levis and Cam Ward’s NFL Statistics

QBGPWinsComp%Yards/GmTDINTYards/AttWill Levis21561%18621167Cam Ward17359.8%1861575.9

Cam Ward had a slightly better touchdown-to-interception ratio (15:7 versus 21:8), but that is about where the superiority stops. Levis won 24 percent of the games he played, but Ward only won 17 percent. Ward had a slightly lower completion percentage while throwing for roughly the same number of yards per game. Ward did this while checking the ball down a lot more often, coming in more than a yard shorter on average passing attempt distance.

The point is that the narrative surrounding Levis being a bust while Ward being the next Tom Brady is mind-numbingly wrong. Maybe Ward is destined for greatness, who knows? But the two quarterbacks have played in roughly the same number of games in their NFL careers, and if numbers mean anything, they suggest the two are much more on an even playing field than not.

What is next for Will Levis?

We can nitpick raw box scores all we want, but for right or wrong, the die has been cast. The Titans will look for trade offers for Levis in the offseason and salvage what they can from their 2023 second-round pick that didn’t work out.

However, trading Levis is by no means a foregone conclusion, and the Titans may value him as a formidable backup. The team could have traded him immediately after drafting Ward, but chose to keep him and allow him to rehab from his season-ending shoulder surgery in their facilities. Reports suggest the team would prefer a veteran backup quarterback capable of mentoring young Cam Ward, but Joe Flaccos do not exactly grow on trees. Will Levis might just be the backup quarterback they need.

That being said, Big Blue Nation would love to see a healthy Will Levis get another shot with a different NFL team. Who knows, with Wan’Dale Robinson hitting the free agency market, maybe a great Wildcat connection and link reconnect in the pros.

Regardless of what happens next, Will Levis is no bust. Sure, he had a fair share of self-inflicted wounds, but he was a victim of being on the wrong team at the wrong time while playing through an injury. There will be plenty more highlights in this man’s career.