It seems like a lifetime has passed since Will Levis had his gruesome-looking injury in the Tennessee Titans overtime loss against the Houston Texans, but that was less than two weeks ago.
The fan base is split on whether they want to see Will Levis get more reps or whether they don't want to risk him playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL (the line that has gotten two quarterbacks hurt in the last three months).
Despite the concern of the fan base, it seems like Levis is going to play in this meaningless game and fans need to be ready for a lackluster performance.
Not only are the Houston Texans healthier than they were two weeks ago, but the Tennessee Titans are significantly more injured.
How much different are the Tennessee Titans after two weeks
While Levis was gone, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and Josh Whyle have both been placed on I.R. That means the Titans will be missing their WR2 and TE2 in this game, which is pretty important for a rookie quarterback who is trying to work on staying consistent.
Unfortunately, that might not even be the worst of it. Jaelyn Duncan was benched last weekend in part because of a shoulder injury, but Mike Vrabel said that some of it was performance-related as well.
Daniel Brunskill missed last weekend and he was limited for most of the week heading into the game. Speaking of limited offensive linemen, center Aaron Brewer has been getting quarterbacks hit all season long and that was when he was healthy. Brewer missed practice or was limited in practice all week long, and now he is going to be limping into the game on Sunday.
Despite missing just one week, Levis could potentially have a new left tackle, WR2, and TE2 to start the game and he can't be confident that his center or right guard will finish the game either.
There is no way that Levis can be fully healthy just a week after a high ankle sprain. In the best-case scenario, it takes Levis a minute to get back up to speed but by the second half, he is connecting with DeAndre Hopkins, Chig Okonkwo, and Tyjae Spears.
Worst case scenario, the Tennessee Titans are putting their quarterback of the future out on the field with an offensive line that is worse at pass protecting and a batch of pass catchers who are worse at their jobs, than the offense he left behind and the day ends up being a setback instead of a step in the right direction.
I understand why Mike Vrabel is pulling out all of the stops to try to win these games. His resume looks worse and worse every day and he is plummeting towards a new franchise low in ineptitude. These games mean a lot to him because they might be the nails in his coffin. However, I don't understand fans who are pretending like there is any chance that Will Levis is fully healthy and that there is any benefit to putting a banged-up Will Levis on the field with an offense that will look completely different next year.
The upside of building chemistry with his weapons or progressing in this system is laughable compared to the risk of this game, especially when you look at his supporting cast now vs two weeks ago (which already wasn't great).