NASHVILLE – This much we know: Will Levis will be the starting quarterback for the Tennessee Titans in 2024.
But, who will be his back up?
Well, Titans coach Brian Callahan made it sound like that is still undecided at this point.
"It's a competition," Callahan said. "They're going to both get a fair shake at the two-job."
The two are veteran Mason Rudolph, and third-year quarterback Malik Willis.
The Titans signed Rudolph earlier this offseason to bring more experience behind Levis, who will be headed into his second NFL season in 2024.
In six seasons at Pittsburgh, Rudolph played in 21 games, with 13 starts, from 2018-2023.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder has completed 291-of-458 passes for 3,085 yards in those contests, with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He's posted a career rating of 86.9 in his career. Rudolph started three games for the Steelers in 2023, and he threw for 719 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
But the team isn't just going to hand Rudolph the job, per Callahan. He'll have to earn it.
Willis, meanwhile, has played in 11 games over the past two seasons while backing up former Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Willis has completed 35-of-66 passes for 350 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions in those contests, with a 53 percent completion rate, and an overall rating of 49.4.
Callahan said the team was up front with both quarterbacks, telling them it was going to be a competition.
"So, they'll split reps pretty evenly," Callahan said of Rudolph and Willis. "They'll get a chance to play quite a bit in the preseason. That's usually where it separates is the game action when you really get an evaluation, but happy with where both of those guys are at. Just like any competition, there's going to be ups and downs. There'll be days when you guys come out and one looks better than the other, and the evaluation is a totality of all their time in the offseason and training camp and the preseason games.
"And so, it's an ongoing evaluation and there's going to be ebbs and flows and guys will look good one day and not as good as the other. And so, you're trying to get their totality of work as to who's best equipped to be the number two."
