Titans usual starting quarterback Will Levis has been dealing with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder for the past two weeks. That didn’t stop Tennessee from starting him last week against the Colts, but this week, the Titans will sit the injured passer, announcing Mason Rudolph as the starter instead, per Titans beat writer Paul Kuharksy. 
Levis retained the starting duties from his rookie season after throwing eight touchdowns to four interceptions despite sporting a 3-6 record as a starter. The performance in his sophomore campaign seems to reflect the win-loss record a bit more accordingly. In five starts this season, Levis has thrown five touchdowns to seven interceptions en route to a 1-4 record. The one game he started that resulted in a win saw him leave after only 11 offensive snaps while Rudolph took over and led the team to a win.
Rudolph was acquired in the offseason as an improved backup option over former third-round pick Malik Willis. Rudolph ended up beating out Willis for the backup job, resulting in Willis getting traded to Green Bay. Rudolph brought a good amount of experience stepping in as a starter from his time in Pittsburgh, sporting an impressive 8-4-1 record despite never being a consistent starter. Rudolph wasn’t asked to do much when he took over for Levis in Week 4, only completing nine passes for 85 yards, but the result of the game is hard to ignore.
Rudolph will now get another chance to step in as the starter again as Levis deals with his injury. In making this announcement, sources haven’t seemed to rule Levis out, indicating that he might be available in an emergency, but with a league-leading 10 turnovers adding insult to injury, it feels like this may be a benching. The team did elevate quarterback Trevor Siemian from the practice squad for the weekend, as well, so there’s a chance that Levis isn’t even QB2 this week and a chance that he’ll be inactive, as well.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the grade 2 AC sprain could continue to hold Levis out in the future. Levis has played through injury in the past and is considered “week-to-week,” but this type of injury often holds players out for four to five weeks. In the meantime, it looks like Rudolph will get a chance to show what he can do at the helm of the Titans offense.
Levis is not good/smart even if healthy.
Rudolph deserved an extended look. I know he has room to grow. I think he needs to have the keys for a few games to see what he’s got. Oh and FREE D HOP!
He does deserve an extended look. Something he never got in Pittsburgh
The whole Mason Rudolph story seems strange. It’s as if Mike Tomlin just didn’t like Rudolph, as whenever Rudolph played, the Steelers did quite well. Rudolph has a lot of fight in him. Any QB willing to go toe-to-toe with Myles Garrett has my respect.
why oh why couldnt there be a CLE matchup
LOL holy Schmidt!! What is going on with the Titans? Mason Rudolph…LOL!! Must be going for the no.1 overall pick next year.
They would take Hunter or oline. I don’t think any of the QBs in this draft Beck or Milroe are true 1st rd QBs. Sanders has some qualities and clearly the connections to have best training.
The true tank is the year after for Arch
Can ward is going to be a stud in the nfl
Ward can be good he has a lot of college experience. I don’t see anyone in college right now as Day 1 NFL starters though.
Finally some better QB play in TENN. Levis was a turnover machine and was painful to watch.
Bills win 37-19
Folks in Tennessee are still celebrating the upset win over Alabama so perhaps they won’t notice another Titan loss.
Hahaha
I’m just here to read some Steelers’ fan unnecessary Mike Tomlin drive-by smack.
Levis has the ability to be a better quarterback than he has been, but he’s definitely not going to do that with a sprained shoulder. It’d be hard enough for him to reverse course without one. I’m not sure that it’s likely (he’s made some pretty gut wrenching decisions), but he is still quite young in terms of starts. Watching him play in the pros reminded me of how he played at Kentucky-he could string together a sequence of highly athletic and impressive plays, only to ruin them with a turnover or an ill advised desperate attempt to make a big play instead of taking what was given. He’s very athletic, and is actually a smart guy, but his decision making and awareness are just wondrously awful.
Rudolph has his issues, but he has managed to generate success in the short tours of duty that he’s been allowed. I know that popular opinion is to disregard him, but I don’t think that any of us could seriously say that we’d think that the Steelers’ 2024 offense would definitively have been worse than we’re seeing now. The Titans at least have three deep starting receiving corps that can help shoulder the load, and right now Rudolph is definitely the better quarterback.
If Levis has any chance at all of living up to his potential, he’s not going to reach it by playing through that injury. Let him sit and take more time to learn Callahan’s offense while Rudolph hopefully helps build some momentum for the team. There’s no rush to bring Levis back, especially when he’s played so poorly.
Levi’s has had his opportunity, he sucks.
NFL QBs have to throw consistantly on target and in sync with the WRs to move the ball down the field. Then get to the red zone where it gets much harder. All without throwing INTs, taking sacks, or fumbling. One bad throw or sack can wreck a long drive. Levis (and a few other young QBs) just can’t do that now. The NFL built a system where they want high flying plays with alot of scoring and soft defense but don’t have the QBs to make it happen. This focus on paying QB/WRs so much money has had a backwards effect, even with rules protecting QBs, kickers making 50+ FGs routinely, ball being spotted at the 30 yd line, generous pass interference, and personal foul penalties. Scoring is still way down. Watching the DEN/NO game was a comedy of errors for Rattler. I’ll give him a pass because 3 OL were out and he wasn’t the starter. But that was painful to watch.
I agree completely-except I actually thought that Rattler made better throws than his Denver counterpart, who has been terrible. Unfortunately for Rattler, his team was missing three starting linemen, lost one of the backup linemen in game, and were down their starting TE and both of their starting receivers. Even if all of those players were playing, the Saints still don’t have a true number one receiver as is. Rattler did better than most should have, especially considering those drops. Unlike Nix, the defense and run game didn’t bail him out.
But yes, you’re right about everything you said. I’ve said it before, myself: the soft defense and offensive rules have bred some lackluster quarterback play that rely on penalties to advance. That’s why P.I. is still a spot foul, and why every penalty seems to be an automatic first down. That stuff may have made sense in an era where flags weren’t thrown nineteen times a game, but with the sheer number of penalties today, the offensive friendly rules, and the sole focus of the game on the quarterback, what incentive do quarterbacks have to play better? Rules will bail them out, and teams will pay them and drop the other players to do it.
As for Levis…look, I never said that he was or is going to be good. I do think that he has great tools and should be better than he is currently. I agree wholeheartedly with Plus3 that consistency is the great common denominator between effective quarterbacks. Levis’ issue is precisely that-consistency, especially in crucial situations, like the red zone. Sometimes he looks good in between red zones, only to turn the ball over or blatantly miss in a critical area to end a drive. I don’t know if it’s nerves or the game just moving too fast (he’s not played a full season yet), but he experienced these same issues at Kentucky. You have to hope, if you’re Tennessee, that some on the bench could allow him to settle down and establish some basic mental acuity so that he doesn’t end up as unsuccessful as he’s been.
Completely different style of QB play but Rudolph reminds me of Tyrod Taylor in terms of what they offer to a team. Both are highly capable backup qb’s who you can trust to compete and give your team a realistic chance to win a few games when they’re given the opportunity. Both guys’ ceiling seems to be a middle of the pack type of starter so I get why coaches and gm’s always are looking to aim higher but they both have probably been the better option to win games than some of the guys they’ve played behind and handled their jobs like pros anyway.
I see your point, I think that you’re correct in the level of quarterback that they both are.
If you have a flat tire, you don`t keep driving