Report: Titans rookie QB Will Levis unlikely to play vs Seahawks on Christmas Eve
The Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks enter Week 16’s Christmas Eve clash with opposite vibes surrounding their franchises.
Last week, Seattle pulled off a miraculous win over the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, while the Titans fell in heartbreaking fashion to the Houston Texans. Now, both are hoping to deliver their fans a present in the form of a win this afternoon.
One of the players who is likely to be missing from the field is Titans promising quarterback Will Levis. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Levis is slated to sit on Sunday, opening up the door for the return of Ryan Tannehill to the lineup.
“#Titans QB Will Levis (questionable, ankle) is unlikely to start Sunday vs. Seahawks, per source, setting the stage for Ryan Tannehill to make his first start since Week 6,” Fowler reported.
As Fowler reported, Levis is continuing to recover from an ankle injury. The rookie quarterback suffered the injury in the closing minutes of last week’s loss against the Texans in overtime. Levis returned to practice for Tennessee and was hoping to “tough it out,” but it doesn’t look like that’ll be the case.
Before taking the big hit that knocked him out at the end of the game, Levis went 17-for-26 for 199 passing yards with one interception. He had a tough day behind an offensive line that allowed seven sacks for a loss of 61 yards against the Texans defensive front.
On the year, Levis is 147-for-249 since taking over for the aforementioned Tannehill. He has 1,792 passing yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
Will Levis unable to play, Tannehill is available to start once again for Tennessee. He hasn’t played since the team’s October 15 game against the Ravens in London.
“He was good, very good,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of Tannehill’s performance in practice on Friday. “Good command, had a good day, better than yesterday, and that’s what it will be (if Levis can’t play).”
Prior to the injury, Tannehill was completing passes at a 62% rate, which is higher than Levis’s completion percentage of 59%. However, he had two touchdown passes to six interceptions through seven games.
Aside from Levis, the Titans had a slew of players on the injury report with several marked ‘out’ for Sunday’s game. Luckily, wide receiver Treylon Burks returned to practice following his illness and is expected to play.
The Titans, now 5-9, are sitting in last place in the AFC South behind three teams that are all 8-6. Though the Jaguars, Texans and Colts are tied by their records, Jacksonville owns the tiebreaker with two wins over the Colts and a road win against Houston.
The Seahawks are currently favored to beat the Titans on Sunday, with or without Levis on the field. They need the victory over Tennessee to keep their playoff hopes alive. Winning out is the only thing they can do to control their postseason destiny.
On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this article.