NASHVILLE — Go ahead and call Will Levis cocky.
The Tennessee Titans quarterback currently fighting for the backup job in Music City, or somewhere else in the NFL, isn’t worried about winning anyone’s approval. He wants to play.
“There are not 32 quarterbacks in this league better than me,” Levis said Saturday. “I know that for sure.”
Levis’ confidence has not wavered one bit from his arrival in Nashville as the 33rd pick in the 2023 draft. The general manager who drafted him was fired in January 2025, and Levis now has to earn more playing time with his third different head coach for a franchise that drafted a quarterback (Cam Ward) with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft.
Levis’ biggest goal for this training camp? Be the best version of himself.
“When I get the opportunities,” Levis said, “I know I’m going to make the most of it and I’m going to shine.”
On paper, Levis is a prototypical quarterback at 6-foot-4 and 229 pounds with all the physical tools.
He is 5-16 as an NFL starter, having completed 61% of his career passes for 3,899 yards with 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Levis threw four interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in 2024, the most for this franchise in a season since 1997, the first season after the Houston Oilers moved from Texas to Tennessee (they took on the Titans nickname two years later).
He also lost five of his eight fumbles and was intercepted 12 times, with the latter number just one fewer than his touchdown pass total. The right-hander missed three games and much of a fourth with a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder that season.
Levis appeared ready to back up Ward last year until sharing a photo of the U-shaped dip in his shoulder on social media, announcing he was having season-ending surgery the day before the Titans reported to training camp.
That left no competition for Cam Ward, and the Titans went 3-14, with head coach Brian Callahan fired early in his second season.
In January, the Titans hired Robert Saleh as their next head coach, and he brought in offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Tennessee also signed veteran Mitchell Trubisky, the second overall pick in 2017, to a two-year contract, hoping to tap into both his experience with Daboll and backing up a young quarterback while with the Buffalo Bills.
That leaves Levis competing with Trubisky to back up Ward. The Titans could keep Levis as the third quarterback for depth or trade him if Levis plays well enough this preseason to attract an offer.
That’s what Tennessee did with Malik Willis in 2024. Now he has a starting gig with the Miami Dolphins.
“I know I put the tape out there already that I’m a dang good quarterback in this league,” Levis said. “And I’m even better than I ever have been.”
Saleh talked with Levis this offseason and told him to be ready to just compete.
“I think he’s doing a really nice job,” Saleh said. “He’s competing his butt off, he’s asking the right questions in meetings. … He’s trending in the right direction.”
Levis said he has also matured after feeling like a kid when he first got to the NFL. He’s 27 and recently received a letter from the NFL Players Association telling him he’s now vested for union benefits going into his fourth season.
“I’ve definitely turned into a man, and there’s still a lot of growing that I need to do,” he said.
Saturday was the first of seven practices open to fans during Tennessee’s training camp. The Titans put up a pair of covered grandstands at the back of their practice fields and had mascot T-Rac and a D.J. on hand along with a food truck.
Fans had to request tickets in advance, and 1,300 were distributed for Saturday.