Titans Rookie QB Will Levis Won’t Play in Tonight’s Game vs. Vikings

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The Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings will meet in each team’s second preseason game of the summer on Saturday evening.

Kickoff is slated for 7 PM inside U.S. Bank Stadium, and there are plenty of crucial storylines for each team surrounding the rosters.

Titans Rookie QB Will Levis Not Expected to Play vs. Vikings

Titans Rookie QB Will Levis
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) throws during a joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings in Eagan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.

Will Levis was one of those big storylines out of Tennessee after being selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft this spring. He joined veteran Ryan Tannehill and 2022 third-round pick Malik Willis in the QB room.

However, it appears that Levis will not play in tonight’s game against the Vikings. Caroline Fenton of radio station 102.5 The Game in Nashville tweeted on Saturday morning, “Source: Will Levis will NOT play in the [Titans] second preseason game tonight at Minnesota.”

Levis, who played college football both at Penn State and Kentucky, spent four seasons between the two programs, throwing for a total of 5876 yards and 46 TDs compared to just 25 interceptions. He completed passes at a clip of 64.9%.

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Levis left the Titans’ and Vikings’ joint practice on Thursday with an apparent injury, but there has been no diagnosis of what exactly happened in the days since. It appears that the injury is significant enough to keep him sidelined on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, this allows the second-year QB, Willis, to take all the snaps in this week’s game. Willis has been a topic of controversy essentially ever since he entered the NFL level. He started three games last season for the Titans, but those games did not go particularly well for him. He completed just 50.8% of his passes over the course of the season for 276 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

Willis has been connected to the Vikings essentially ever since he entered the 2022 Draft. Many banged the table for Minnesota to select him that spring, given Kirk Cousins’ age and his contract quickly winding down alongside the questions of if the veteran could lead Minnesota to the promised land.

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However, the Vikings passed on him multiple times that weekend, and ultimately, he landed in Tennessee. Even still, that hasn’t stopped folks from inquiring about a possible trade that would bring the young QB to Minnesota.

It seems a touch more unlikely given the fact that Minnesota drafted Jaren Hall in this spring’s draft, but he is still a very raw prospect that could take some time to fully develop.

As a result, with Willis likely playing much of the game tonight if not all of it, this gives the Vikings a chance to perhaps scout him up close and see if he is worth taking a chance on. With the Levis injury, it seems unlikely that Tennessee would part with him right now, but maybe down the road it could be a possibility.

Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.