Titans' Will Levis admits harsh reality about Cam Ward situation

Officially, the Tennessee Titans are holding a competition for their starting quarterback job involving 2023 second-round draft pick Will Levis and 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

That said, just about every outsider observer believes Ward is already Tennessee's uncrowned Week 1 QB1. 

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Levis seemed to confirm a harsh reality regarding sharing a quarterback room with Ward this spring.

"I think anyone who's ever been in my situation can agree that it sucks," Levis admitted, as shared by Turron Davenport of ESPN. "I'm just trying to do everything I can not to let it affect me. I'm just being the same dude every day in the building and being here for the guys."

Neither Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi nor head coach Brian Callahan were with the organization when it took a flier on Levis back in the spring of 2023. Callahan benched Levis due to poor play this past December, and Pro Football Reference shows that the 25-year-old ended the 2024 season ranked last in the league among qualified players with a 27.8 adjusted QBR.

Levis insisted that he will "be ready to play quarterback whenever my name's called," but he was also sure to praise the young man who almost certainly will begin September atop the depth chart. 

"He is a really smart kid," Levis said about Ward. "We've been able to talk a lot about just the different installs that we've gone through and hearing his perspective, how he sees things. He's a heck of an athlete, a heck of a quarterback, too."

Meanwhile, Ward revealed on Wednesday that Levis "was one of the first ones to come up to me in the locker room" during springtime workouts. Ward also suggested he isn't yet assuming he's already won what's probably a competition in name only. 

"I'm on coach Callahan's timeline," Ward added, per Will Backus of CBS Sports. "That's really not my decision. I know I still got a lot to work on. I got a lot of processing to do to play in the NFL. I think I'm getting up there at a rapid pace and so I'm excited. I just think the biggest thing for me is just taking it day by day."  

Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated thinks that Levis could "look absolutely, unbelievably, ridiculously good in the preseason." Perhaps such a performance would attract interest from other teams who realize Levis has no long-term future with the Titans.