Will Levis addresses rough first practice with Tennessee Titans
Will Levis dominated Tennessee Titans rookie camp last month. But now that the full team is practicing together, the newbie quarterback is experiencing some down moments.
So at least publicly, he’s deciding to shake it off. That’s what he planned to do after Wednesday’s OTA session in Nashville.
“I know I have more opportunities tomorrow and the next day, so I’m not going to beat myself up,” Will Levis told reporters. “High standards is the name of the game. It’s not to beat yourself up. It’s to motivate you to go out there and perform to the best of your ability.”
Basically, the Titans probably aren’t expecting any spectacular from Levis this month. They want to see steady improvement, even if it’s gradual. Tennessee drafted the former Kentucky star in the second round of April’s draft. He was projected as a first rounder — perhaps even an early first rounder. But he fell into the Titans lap two picks into the second round. Meanwhile, the top three quarterbacks in the NFL Draft — Bryce Young, CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson — were amongst the top four picks.
He’s learning the Titans playbook in these OTAs. The full mini-camp is June 6-8. So when the Titans do go through team drills, Will Levis is hanging with the other quarterbacks, including starter Ryan Tannehill and Malik Willis, the team’s third-round pick from 2022.
Tannehill, who turns 35 during training camp, has one year left on his contract. Levis and Willis could be the Titans quarterback of the future, but there’s not an immediate need for 2023. So Levis shouldn’t worry about the mistakes made in these early days, so long as he corrects them.
“Will’s done a good job of coming in and going to work,” Titans quarterbacks coach Charles London said. “He played in a pro-style offense at Kentucky so he’s been in the huddle, under center and called plays. That’s helped his transition so far.”
Will Levis told reporters. that most of his practice went well. But as quarterbacks are well aware, the mistakes they make decide games. In this session, maybe he was thinking too much. According to reporters who watched practice, Levis’ passes weren’t that accurate. He threw into coverage and he botched a snap. The mistakes probably were humbling.
It was “pretty smooth other than a couple of plays,” Levis said. “Those things are going to happen, just got to eliminate those as much as possible. A couple of missed throws and a couple of things I could’ve done better to get us rolling more efficiently, But just got to keep stacking and keep working to get better everyday.”