Titans' Brian Daboll shares surprising Will Levis promise as Cam Ward recovers from injury

On paper, Tennessee Titans quarterback and 2023 second-round draft pick Will Levis has no long-term future with the club that has 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward atop the depth chart. 

It's no secret that first-year Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has been a big Ward fan since at least before last year's draft. Nevertheless, Daboll suggested while recently speaking with reporters that he's in no hurry to show Levis the door. 

Titans giving Will Levis another fresh start?

"Will has been really good for us," Daboll said, per Jim Wyatt of the Titans' website. "He has picked up the system well. He is a big, strong, athletic guy who has played some in the league. He kind of gets a fresh start here with us."

Back in December 2024, the coaching staff employed by the Titans at that time benched Levis due to poor play. He holds a rather unimpressive career record of 5-16 as a starter, and he took no meaningful snaps during the 2025 campaign after he needed season-ending shoulder surgery last summer.

That said, Titans head coach Robert Saleh hinted back in February that he was "really looking forward to [Levis] being part of this football team." Whether or not such comments about Levis are related to the AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder that Ward suffered this past January is unclear, although there is no indication that Daboll or Saleh is concerned about Ward's recovery. 

What Brian Daboll has learned about Cam Ward since wanting to draft him

Daboll was serving as the head coach of the New York Giants when he first wanted to work with Ward. It sounds like Daboll has grown more impressed with the signal-caller since being hired by the Titans.  

"He is a young professional," Daboll said about Ward. "He wants to be great. He is instinctive. When we are just watching the tape, he is able to communicate the things that he sees and why he did certain things when we watch the tape from last year. When we are installing the new system to him, concepts and things like that, he is able to pick things up very quickly. It has been awesome to work with him."