INDIANAPOLIS -- Tennessee Titans General Manager confirmed suspicions about Malik Willis and the Titans' backup quarterback job from the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week.
While speaking with Titans media on Tuesday, Carthon confirmed that the team would be looking to add a quarterback to the roster in either free agency or the 2024 NFL Draft to compete for the backup QB job.
Obviously Tennessee was not going to go into training camp with just two quarterbacks. But the team's serious pursuit of a quarterback to compete, not just a body, shows me that Willis' place with the team is not safe.
"We're going to continue to look. We have Malik (Willis) in house and we're not going to go into training camp with just two quarterbacks," said Carthon on Tuesday. "We're going to bring another quarterback in at some point whether that's through the draft, whether that's through free agency to compete, and we expect all three of those guys to compete and elevate the room. We're going to mix and match and see what's the best fit."
When asked if the Titans were going to be looking at veteran quarterbacks to compliment the younger guys currently in the room, Carthon said that the team was "still in the evaluation process" of figuring out what they needed in free agency.
But from what head coach Brian Callahan said about the position, I think it's something the Titans will value highly and invest in.
"You want a guy first and foremost that can play the position," said Callahan when asked what he's looking for in a backup quarterback. "There's another element of backup quarterbacks that's really important is how they are in the room with the starter. That matters. That relationship can be very fruitful. It can also be very damaging if it's not on the same page. Having a starter with a backup quarterback that's there to help, that assists, that sees things through the quarterbacks set of eyes can be very helpful on game days with the starting quarterback. It's a role that I think is probably undervalued publicly."
Brian Callahan knows how important a backup quarterback is. Last season in Cincinnati, Jake Browning had to step in and start seven games for the Bengals when Joe Burrow went down for the season.
Browning had success and went 4-3 as a starter. A testament to how a team can stay afloat through injuries if they have the right backup quarterback.
I think it's going to be important for Callahan to find his version of Jake Browning in Tennessee, and I don't think that player is Malik Willis. I'd expect the Titans to go after a backup quarterback who is more plug-and-play than developmental. At the very least, they'd probably be better off finding a backup quarterback that plays a similar brand of football to Will Levis. Once again, I don't think Malik Willis is that guy.
If there is something in Willis' favor it's the relationship he and Levis developed last season. The two are good friends and have a solid working relationship. Willis is very well supported and respected in the Titans locker room.
I see Mitchell Trubisky, Sam Darnold, and Drew Lock as potential fits in free agency.
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