In one of the most predictable injuries in franchise history, Will Levis was carted off after just five pass attempts in the Tennessee Titans loss Sunday against the Houston Texans.
I'm not someone who talks about the risk of players getting injured often, in fact, I have probably been too optimistic in the past about how players should be asked to do when they return from injuries.
For example, when Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans defense were dragging the team to the 1-seed, late in December there was a chance that Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, and Julio Jones were all going to be healthy for the last game of the season, with a chance to build some momentum heading into the playoffs.
In retrospect, I should have expected less from Henry and Julio, but I was optimistic that reinjury wasn't something to be concerned about and that if they were healthy enough to practice then they should be on the field for these meaningful games.
There is a big difference between letting star players get their legs back underneath them for a playoff run and trotting out a rookie quarterback behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL on a bad leg.
Now before you say, "Well Will Levis actually hurt his foot and the ankle had nothing to do with it." Listen to former Tennessee Titans WR Derrick Mason talk about how injuries and mistakes can compound in the NFL.
In that video he talks about the potential downside behind putting Will Levis on the field behind this offensive line. First, their inability to do their job could stunt his growth when it comes to reading the field because he has to rush through his reads or skip reads entirely.
He also talks about how injuries compound in the NFL and how a hamstring injury (as an example, it could be any body part) can lead to you moving differently either consciously or unconsciously. That change could lead you into bad habits and could screw up your mechanics, which means that putting him on the field could actually hinder his progress whether he gets reinjured or not.
Did the Tennessee Titans make the right call?
Now that you know all of that, let's look back at the decision. Knowing that the result of this game doesn't change anything for the Tennessee Titans (other than draft position), and knowing that putting Levis in the game could mean hindering his growth through no fault of his own, and on top of all of that you are running the risk of reinjuring your young quarterback and hampering his offseason, was it the right choice to start Will Levis?
There will be a vocal group of people who believe that he should have played regardless of the risks or benefits and that playing him was always the right call because if you can move you should play and that is why they pay these guys all of that money. I understand that nothing I say or do will be able to convince that group that this was a bad decision.
Even the negative result of the game (which went about as bad as it could have) won't change their mind.
However, hopefully, there is a small group of people who read this and realize that this was a mistake by the coaching staff and Levis never should have been put in the position to get injured behind an offensive line that might be the worst in franchise history.
Jon Robinson is absolutely to blame for some of this mess, but this team has gotten worse at almost everything in the one offseason with Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon in charge. Everything from personnel choices to coaching hires to decision-making has been suspect and fans shouldn't be overly optimistic that they will get better at that just because they have more money and a higher draft pick this offseason.