The Tennessee Titans have decided to keep second-year quarterback Will Levis on the bench and start backup Mason Rudolph, who is on a one-year deal. This decision, announced on Wednesday, gives the Titans (3-11) a chance to show progress under first-year coach Brian Callahan when they face Indianapolis (6-8) on Sunday.
“I felt like it was the best thing for our team for these last few weeks to see what Mason can bring offensively,” Callahan said.
Callahan was hired for his expertise in offense and experience with quarterbacks, including Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Joe Burrow. Levis has been responsible for 17 of the Titans’ league-worst 29 turnovers, despite missing three games and part of a fourth due to a sprained right shoulder.
The first-year coach explained that this decision is made on a week-by-week basis with no promises about the future.
“It doesn’t mean that this is the end of Will’s ability to be a good quarterback,” Callahan said. “This is just situationally in a season where we’re at, I felt like we needed a spark at the quarterback position.”
Levis has 12 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in 11 starts, with 1,916 passing yards this season. Rudolph, who is starting his fourth game, has 1,015 passing yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions. His most recent game saw him try to rally the team in a loss to Cincinnati.
Rudolph isn’t focusing on using this opportunity to show what he can do for either the Titans or another team in 2025.
“Obviously every player wants to play well and have a long career, but I’m focused on winning the game Sunday and celebrating with my teammates,” Rudolph said.
Levis was selected by general manager Ran Carthon in his first NFL draft, picked 33rd overall. Levis had shown some improvement, going without interceptions in his first two games, although the team lost both games.
However, he struggled in a game against Cincinnati, where he was hit hard by Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson, fumbled the ball, and threw three interceptions in the next 12 plays. One of those interceptions was returned 39 yards for a touchdown. This led to Levis being benched in favor of Rudolph.
Rudolph performed well in relief, completing 21 of 26 passes for 209 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, finishing with a passer rating of 109.8 against one of the league’s worst defenses against the pass.
Callahan said on Monday that he wanted to take some time before deciding whether to put Levis back in the starting role, and Rudolph was informed of the decision on Tuesday.
Titans’ controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired coach Mike Vrabel in January after the team’s second straight losing season. The team is trying to avoid matching the 14 losses from Ken Whisenhunt’s first season as coach in 2014, which would be the most in a season since the team moved to Tennessee in 1997.
Rudolph’s record this season is 1-2, and his career record stands at 9-6-1. Five of those wins came in 2019 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the third round of the 2018 draft.
Levis expressed that the decision to bench him was difficult and disappointing, but he doesn’t believe it’s a final decision about his future with the team. He remains confident in his ability to be a franchise quarterback and considers this year to be a period of “great development” for him.
“I think that I truly did improve and sure as heck don’t want to go out like that,” Levis said. “And I know that there’s a positive future for me, whether it’s here or somewhere else. And I just have the conversations I need to hear and hopefully I can show and prove that I can still be the guy.”
