[FREE] The Titans Future at QB Starts Now
Mike Vrabel's recent comments about Malik Willis could set the stage for a wild quarterbacking future in Tennessee
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The Titans’ quarterback situation is pretty simple…well, at least the first part of the puzzle is.
I think we all know who represents the first part of this complicated ordeal right? Ryan Tannehill will be this team’s starter unless he’s suspended or hurt. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
He gives the team the best chance to win right now and will continue to do so until further notice. We can all agree on that stance right?
Great.
Now let’s move on to the more confusing parts of this puzzle.
Aside from the first piece, there isn’t much clarity and comfort regarding the second and third pieces of the Titans’ disorganized quarterback mess. Not just in the present time, but for the future as well.
There’s two options that stand as the 2nd and 3rd pieces on paper. But in reality, these two options present feelings similar to confusion and discomfort, rather than confidence and relaxation.
How you might ask? Well let me explain a bit more in detail.
There are no solidified 2nd and 3rd options on the depth chart because well, they haven’t been set in stone yet. But as mentioned before, you can receive some clarity if you look at the situation on paper.
The “second option” right now is Malik Willis, one of former GM Jon Robinson’s last gambles as general manager of the Titans. His physical quality is there, but as evidenced last season, the mental quality required of the position has yet to catch up.
The “third option” is none other than rookie quarterback Will Levis. Like Willis, his physical attributes stand out, but also like Willis, the mental aspect isn’t really up to par — although Levis has more of a leg up on Willis in this aspect, compared to Willis when he came in as a rookie last season.
These two similar, yet different situations have combined to create a lot of intrigue surrounding the Titans and their quarterback situation moving forward. And while you may say that’s crazy considering just how raw Willis looked last season — trust me, we won’t blame you at all — Mike Vrabel’s most recent comments regarding Willis might just throw your previous thinking into a whirlwind of confusion. Thanks to Turron for the comments from Vrabel:
If Vrabel’s words ring true, and Willis’ improvement jumps out on tape when he inevitably receives preseason snaps, we’re going to have to begin discussions about the Titans and how they’ll handle their quarterback situation moving forward.
Because buddy, it’ll be one hell of a discussion to have.
Here’s Where We Stand
Before we can even think about having said discussion, we need to re-evaluate the current situation and see if there’s any potential for change.
Malik Willis is in a tough spot with the Titans.
His rawness was on display last season and didn’t do him any favors for the most part. Granted, no one expected Willis to even be ready to play significant snaps in year one, so the expectations were rightfully tempered to a reasonable level.
But even then, his rawness was so significant on a scale, that it made you question if he even had a future as an NFL starter. The environment around him didn’t make things easy, as he had a pretty awful surrounding cast for a rookie quarterback:
Bad offensive coordinator
Bad offensive line (probably the worst in football)
One of the worst skill groups in the league (aside from Derrick Henry of course)
So it isn’t like he stepped into a good situation and pissed down his own leg.
But the glaring rawness was still a concern, which is why Mike Vrabel made the decision to move away from Willis during the team’s last few games of the season in hopes of securing a playoff spot.
Now in year two, the situation appears pretty bleak.
The general manager that drafted Willis is gone, the organization has done almost everything to show they don’t view him as their future starting quarterback, and his own roster spot looks to be in trouble if Will Levis shows enough improvement over the next month and some change.
Speaking of Levis, his situation is a little more bright.
New GM Ran Carthon has faith in his ability to transition to the NFL, and while he might be on the field in year one, he should be ready to become the starter in year two if all things go well.
He’s gone through his rough patches during OTA’s and minicamp, but what rookie quarterback hasn’t? Especially young quarterbacks that have some refining to do with their own game?
You can probably think of a couple, right?
Levis’ own shortcomings are more coachable at this point as well, since his experience in a traditional NFL offense at Kentucky have set the foundation for his understanding of the game at the professional level.
Because of that, Levis has the inside track to shrug Willis aside and become this team’s true future at quarterback as of today.
But Vrabel’s comments regarding Willis keep bugging me. Not in an annoying way, but in a way that grabs a hold of your thoughts and keeps a hold there until something makes it go away.
What if….
You might take this entire following excerpt as a one big what if.
That’s not a bad thing, since the NFL is nothing but what ifs. However you might not take it as seriously, since what ifs are far from guarantees, which are things a lot of NFL fans want these days.
But I’m not here to make people happy, a bit of a disclaimer there.
If Vrabel’s words about Willis are true, then the Titans could be in a bit of a dilemma regarding their quarterback situation not just this year, but in 2024 as well.
Because if Willis’ “glaring improvement” is the real deal, and it can also translate to game situations, then you’re looking at a situation where Willis could flip his entire future upside down.
Which will coincide with the Titans’ future plans too.
Like with Willis last season, there seems to be a path for Will Levis himself to snatch the backup quarterback job away from Willis. Which’ll — like Willis in 2022 — lead to a valuable year of watching and learning, at least this is how the Titans want it to go.
But if Willis can fend off Levis, you’d be looking at a situation where the new GM’s first quarterback selection will have an unexpected mountain to climb.
Not just on the depth chart, but in the highly contested political landscape that exists in NFL front offices.
Zach Lyons and Braden Gall dived into this storyline during their July 24th edition of “A Football Show” as well. It was a pretty in depth discussion, so check it out if you can.
Granted, this conversation is versed around Willis proving his “glaring improvement” is real, and can be shown off in real game situations in the pre-season and the regular season if Tannehill struggles with injuries again.
But if that situation comes to pass, this ordeal would turn into one with a lot of intrigue and interest. Even if Willis doesn’t get the game time necessary to make this fantasy like development come to fruition, a regular season full of work on the practice field can still be used as a defense mechanism.
Which would then lead into 2024, plenty of questions now rising, and answers not available until the situation resolves itself.
Looking ahead to 2024 with this sort of thing is premature though. So take that portion with a grain of salt.
But still, it’s a pretty weird scenario that has a chance of occurring right?
Now you might bash this for being some weird Malik Willis fanboy content and a thousand or so words dedicated towards the downfall of Will Levis. Both of those seem wild and are totally false.
It’s just Vrabel’s comments kept nagging at me. Vrabel himself has always remained true to his basic examples of compliments towards his players.
But a randomly timed singular vote of confidence? That isn’t really something you’d expect Vrabel to say, at least this early in the off-season cycle, a time when camp hasn’t even started yet.
Overview
This isn’t to say Vrabel’s words are directly from God himself, or that they’re words straight from the predictions of Nostradamus.
What they are though, are interesting, especially with Willis’ struggles widely being on display last season.
Or they could be spitballing moments from Vrabel during his first press conference of the 2023 training camp era.
Who knows!
What you should do though, is keep an eye on development of this specific plot line, as it could have some ramifications on how the team looks at the future of their quarterback room moving forward.
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