Titans Dilemma: Keeping Two Or Three Quarterbacks

Because of a new NFL rule, teams can now carry an 'emergency' quarterback in 2023. Now the Tennessee Titans have a decision to make.

Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

NASHVILLE - There's a tough decision facing Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly starting when the team's training camp opens July 25.

Of all the roster decisions Vrabel and his staff face, the decision about how many quarterbacks they will keep on the initial 53-man roster will be the toughest and perhaps most discussed leading up to the final cuts. 

It's a given that Ryan Tannehill is the starter and that as the most recent quarterback drafted by the team, Will Levis is a lock to be there when the team arrives in New Orleans. But there are questions concerning Malik Willis' future with this team. 

 During the recently concluded minicamp, Willis showed vast improvement from last season and looked like the better of the two quarterbacks behind Tannehill. Still, there will be debate as to whether Willis should remain on the roster considering the new league rule allowing teams to carry an emergency quarterback that would dress but be inactive other than in case of injury to the team's first two quarterbacks.  

In the past, Vrabel and his teams have carried just two quarterbacks into the season, but with last season as an example, the Titans could feel the need to have that third signal-caller on hand and ready to go should the need arise, as was the case last season.    

Immediately following April's draft, Vrabel stated that Willis was the No. 2, with Levis at No. 3 behind Tannehill. That seemed to hold during the recent practices, and they will enter camp in the same positions.

 But will it hold when the season arrives?

There will be a lot of opinions expressed in the coming weeks as to what will transpire, leading Vrabel and his staff to their final decisions here, including mine, here and now. 

When the first 53-man roster is released, there will be three quarterbacks at the end of the day. 

It's hard to imagine they would make it through if the Titans tried to slide Willis or Levis through waivers to the practice squad. 

Granted, what Willis put on tape last season was less than inspiring,  but in a quarterback-driven league, it's almost certain that some team will grab him up as a developmental backup.   

Doing that brings no value to the Titans, as they used a third-round selection to acquire him in the 2022 draft, so giving him away, even though the current general manager Ran Carthon didn't draft him, seems an unlikely move.  

The possibility of a trade involving Willis, however, is another discussion for another day. But I can't see the Titans simply allowing another franchise to scoop up a former draft pick at a position of importance without something in return.  

I've been wrong before and could be here, but it's my feeling that Willis will remain, and he and Levis will continue to compete throughout the season for the No. 2 place. 

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