Jets' Aaron Rodgers praises Titans' Will Levis after draft slide
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers knows a little bit about what Will Levis experienced this past spring and praised the Tennessee Titans rookie signal-caller after Levis enjoyed a stellar regular-season debut in Sunday's 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
"I’m happy for the kid," Rodgers said about Levis during a Tuesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," per Nikki Chavanelle of On3. "He dealt with a lot of s--- on draft day, didn’t he? He was there, showed up, didn’t get picked until the second round. Obviously, lost a lot of money. Got kinda kicked in the you-know-what from an ego standpoint. So, really happy for him."
While Rodgers famously sat and waited until the Green Bay Packers made him pick No. 24 of the 2005 NFL Draft, Levis slid into the second round of this year's player-selection process before Tennessee grabbed him via overall choice No. 33. Against Atlanta, Levis completed 19-of-29 passes for 238 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
"He threw some freakin' rainbows," Rodgers added about how Levis performed playing in place of injured veteran Ryan Tannehill (ankle). "The last one he threw was a hell of a throw. He rolled to his right and threw a rainbow across the field… it couldn’t have looked more beautiful… You couldn’t script it any better. You go out and throw four touchdowns when no one’s expecting anything from you, probably?"
According to Jim Wyatt of the Titans' website, Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Tuesday that he "would imagine, as of today" that Levis will start when the 3-4 Titans play at the 4-3 Pittsburgh Steelers this coming Thursday night.
"It was crazy — I couldn't really take any time to celebrate," Levis said on Tuesday about the victory against Atlanta. "Obviously, I took the moment and enjoyed it with my family, and the loved ones that I had there. But like coach said, our minds had to flip to Pittsburgh at 4 o'clock on Sunday with the quick turnaround."
It sounds like at least one future Hall of Famer can't wait to see what Levis gives the Titans in his second pro start.
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