Reporter expands on whether Titans are having true QB competition between Cam Ward, Will Levis

Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi and head coach Brian Callahan have insisted that rookie Cam Ward will compete with 2023 second-round draft pick Will Levis for the team's starting quarterback job this summer. 

That said, many outsiders assume it's a matter of when and not if the first overall selection of this year's draft will be named Tennessee's Week 1 QB1 over Levis. 

For an article published on Monday, Titans reporter Turron Davenport of ESPN touched upon how Callahan is handling his top two quarterbacks during springtime workouts.

"Competition is one of the lessons Callahan may have learned from his first season after giving Levis the keys to the car," Davenport wrote. "But eventually, Levis would find himself in a mid-season quarterback battle with Mason Rudolph."

Callahan was serving as offensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals when Levis went 3-6 but showed promise as a rookie. Over the first nine regular-season games of his career, he completed 149 of 255 passes (58.4 percent) for 1,808 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions. 

Levis then began his first campaign working with Callahan as Tennessee's starter, but was benched for poor play this past December. According to Pro Football Reference, Levis ended the 2024 regular season ranked last in the NFL among qualified players with a 27.8 adjusted QBR. He lost 10 of 12 starts, and he recorded 13 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions over 12 contests. 

During Callahan's stint with the Bengals, they made Joe Burrow a Week 1 starter as a rookie. Ward almost certainly will follow in Burrow's footsteps unless the former looks downright lost in August preseason games. 

"By definition, there will be a competition in that Ward will have to work his way up the depth chart. This is an opportunity for Ward to earn respect in the locker room by earning the opportunity to be the starter," Davenport added.

As of late Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Ward second among the betting favorites at +350 odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award for the upcoming season. That says plenty about how members of the football community view what is probably a competition in name only involving Ward and Levis.