Through two games, Will Levis has made two critical mistakes that have hurt the Tennessee Titans. The mistakes were so bad that you could argue that they are the difference between a 2-0 record and the 0-2 record the team currently has.
Right now, you would have a hard time finding many Titans fans who are thrilled about the idea of Levis being the team's quarterback of the future, and that is fair.
At the end of the day, fans only have so much patience for a quarterback. Sure, the offensive line has been horrific so far and the Titans have had punts blocked in back-to-back games, but it only takes one crucial mistake to put all the blame on the quarterback. That is the nature of the beast when you play the most important position in sports.
Titans fans haven't gotten to the point where they are ready to bench him and play Mason Rudolph, but each bonehead play pushes them closer. At this point, you have to ask, when would the Titans consider pulling the plug on Levis?
The answer is simple, but it isn't one that people are going to like.
For nine months now, it has been clear that the only goal this season is to get absolute clarity about the quarterback position. Investments were made along the offense in the hopes of finding out whether or not Levis could be the guy in Tennessee.
That is still the top priority, and unless Levis gets hurt, the Titans should play him for all 17 games.
If he bounces back and turns into the guy it looked like he could be, great, then you can move on with another year of cheap quarterback play with fewer questions next offseason than you had last offseason.
On the other hand, if he crumbles all season long, you know that you have to move on and you have a high draft pick to use to find his replacement.
To be fair to Levis, it isn't all doom and gloom because he improved a good bit from Week 1 to Week 2. The boneheaded plays overshadowed that for many, but there were long stretches where he was the engine in the Titans offense.
Backward pass aside, he completed 68% of his passes and moved the ball well despite the offensive line leading the NFL in pressure allowed. He also made clutch plays with his legs including two 10+ yard runs from muddy pockets. Had Tyler Boyd caught that goal-line pass on fourth down at the end of the game, the attitude towards Levis would be much different.
Quarterbacks are inconsistent early in their career. It is just what happens when you have to adjust to life in the NFL on a team that was bad enough to need a new quarterback.
When you look at the quarterback class from the 2023 NFL Draft, he is still second-best of the bunch behind C.J. Stroud. Out of the four second-year quarterbacks (including Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson), Levis is second in completion percentage, interception percentage, and touchdown to interception ratio.
Instead of being a prisoner of the moment, the Titans brass needs to keep that in mind this season. Head coach Brian Callahan and GM Ran Carthon don't have to worry about job security this year, but as soon as they commit to a decision at quarterback, the clock starts ticking.
They might as well be patient with Levis this season before evaluating all of their options ahead of 2025.