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The Tennessee Titans shouldn't trade Will Levis for Mason Rudolph

Posted on by Kennedy
The Tennessee Titans shouldn't trade Will Levis for Mason Rudolph

MIAMI – Brian Callahan emerged from a locker room Monday night full of relief and cheers. And very loud music. The music drowned out his press conference and no one seemed to care.

After his first win as coach of the Tennessee Titans, Callahan settled for shouting when he said something that needed to be said definitively and preemptively after that 31-12 win over the Miami Dolphins. Because the game was won with quarterback Will Levis on the sideline.

“If Will is healthy,” Callahan said, “he’s our quarterback.”

So here we go. There's nothing to see here. No quarterback controversy.

There isn't one, and there shouldn't be one. At least not yet. Assuming the shoulder injury that sidelined Levis in the first quarter in Miami isn't a major concern – and Callahan said he doesn't think that would be the case – Levis is “100%” still the starter Titans forward Mason Rudolph, who was selected in relief, picked up a win on Monday.

“It wasn't a decision based on anything other than his health and safety,” Callahan said, “especially with a bye week in mind.” With a shoulder that didn't feel good, I didn't want to let him out again, Even though I knew I would run the ball quite a bit.”

It was wise of him to stop the speculation before it unfolded because people will certainly be talking about it. Many who turned away from the lesser of the two Monday Night Football games still saw Levis throw another bad interception on the first drive. And they'll summarize the Titans' win in two bullet points:

1. They won their first game for Callahan in four tries.

2. And the Titans' quarterback was Rudolph for the first time in those four games.

How much did the second point have to do with the first? Highly controversial. Those who watched the entire game saw the Dolphins' weakened offense struggle while the Titans played about two-thirds of their offensive plays. Rudolph completed just nine passes for 85 yards. It was defense and running game and . . .

“I didn’t do much at all,” Rudolph said.

TRUE. Rudolf not do a lot to win this game. But he also didn't do anything to lose it, and that's very important to the Titans at this moment.

Teammates pointed this out afterward.

“He played great,” running back Tony Pollard said of Rudolph. “He did a great job with the ball, made the right plays, made good decisions with the ball. He helped us win the game.”

Of the Titans' last 11 possessions with Rudolph on Monday, seven resulted in points. The other four? Punts. None ended with a turnover.

Rudolph looked like a veteran NFL quarterback because he Is a veteran NFL quarterback. He has learned to avoid mistakes that cost a game. Nice to have a reliable replacement, and at this point you could argue that stability and maturity make him a safer bet than Levis on game day.

More: What Tennessee Titans' Brian Callahan said about Will Levis' shoulder injury after the win against the Dolphins

However, Callahan doesn't see it that easily, nor should he.

The Titans coach is proceeding cautiously. Maybe too cautious. His public criticism of Levis' mistakes often seems more like an excuse, and it was that way again on Monday after Levis threw a pass directly at a Dolphins player: “I just didn't see it,” Callahan said. “Sometimes that happens.”

Yes, but there's too much going on for Levis. This can't go on forever.

But what else can the Titans do in the meantime? Staying with Levis isn't just the right decision for Callahan. It is the only decision.

If the team were to bench Levis now, it wouldn't just be for one or two games. It would be forever. It would show everyone – and especially Levis – that the Titans have decided he's not the long-term guy and that they'd prefer to enter the lottery for a quarterback. Rudolph could win a few extra games now, but the long-term question is Levi's, and the Titans don't have an answer to that yet.

You need to get through this with Levis and let him grow and build some confidence.

Because right now he doesn't look confident.

How could he be? Spend five minutes on social media searching the man's name and you'll be convinced that the Titans have the worst quarterback in NFL history. I've never understood what it is about Levis that attracts haters like no other athlete, but it was like that before he was drafted and it's still like that today.

Levis insisted he ignore it. I hope so for his good, but I have my doubts.

I've often thought that he cares too much about what people think. I worry that he's listening to the negativity and putting too much pressure on himself to prove the doubters wrong. I suspect he also realizes how insanely difficult it is to play quarterback in the NFL, where everyone is talented and works hard and deeply desires success with no guarantee that it will come.

After the win in Miami, I asked receiver DeAndre Hopkins – who has seen a lot in this league – how Levis is handling everything.

“I think Will will be fine,” Hopkins replied thoughtfully. “I think he'll be fine.”

The Titans appear willing to wait and find out.

That's a good decision.

Currently.

Reach Tennessee sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on the X Platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.

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