The Tennessee Titans will be without quarterback Will Levis for the entire 2025 campaign. The team’s second-round pick with the #33 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft needs season-ending surgery on his right throwing shoulder.
This development makes it a certainty that Cam Ward, who the Titans made the #1 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, will be their starter under center in Week 1 when they play at Denver.
The 26-year-old Levis initially injured his AC joint in a 31-12 win at Miami in Week 4 on Sept. 30 of last year.
“We support his decision to focus on his long-term health,” the Titans said in a statement. “He approached the offseason with professionalism and showed clear growth as a leader. We remain confident in his full recovery.”
After the win over the Dolphins, Tennessee had its bye week. Levis started the next time out in a 20-17 home loss vs Indianapolis, but he would miss the next three games after being ineffective vs. the Colts.
The University of Kentucky product ended up going 2-10 in 12 starts in 2024. Levis completed 190-of-301 passes (63.1%) for 2,091 yards with a 13/12 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His 27.8 QBR was ranked #32 in the NFL.
As a rookie in 2023, Levis played in nine games. He connected on 149-of-255 throws (58.4%) for 1,808 yards with an 8/4 TD-INT ratio.
According to an ESPN report, Levis has sought multiple medical opinions since experiencing pain during minicamp.
Veteran QBs Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle will now serve as Ward’s backups.
Ward started his collegiate career at Incarnate Word before transferring to Washington St. He was the starter for the Cougars in 2022 and 2023.
During his first season in Pullman, Ward completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,232 yards with a 23/9 TD-INT ratio. He added five rushing TDs as well.
In 2023, Ward connected on 66.6 percent of his throws for 3,736 yards with a 25/7 TD-INT ratio. He also found the end zone on eight rushing scores.
With the Hurricanes last year, Ward finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. He led UM to a 9-0 start and a #5 national ranking.
The ‘Canes were firmly in the hunt for the program’s first berth into the College Football Playoff before dropping a 28-23 decision at Ga. Tech as 9.5-point road favorites. They would lose three of their last four games, however, to finish 10-3 straight up and 7-6 against the spread.
Ward completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,313 yards with a 39/7 TD-INT ratio. He added four rushing TDs and one TD catch, and he was named a consensus first-team All-American. Ward was the 2024 ACC Player of the Year and also won the Manning Award and the Davey O’Brien Award.
Tennessee finished 2024 with an abysmal 3-14 SU record and a 2-15 ATS mark. There’s reason for optimism in 2025, though. For starters, the AFC South is probably the NFL’s weakest division (again).
The Titans beefed up the offensive line for Ward by signing left tackle Dan Moore and right guard Kevin Zeitler. They also acquired veteran playmaking WR Tyler Lockett, who has 661 career receptions for 8,594 yards and 61 TDs in 10 seasons for the Seahawks. At the age of 32, the belief is that Lockett still has several quality seasons left in him.
Despite shaky QB play, WR Calvin Ridley produced in his first year with the organization last season, hauling in 64 catches for 1,017 yards and four TDs. The hope in Nashville is that a pair of fourth-round selections, WRs Chimere Dike (Florida) and Elic Ayomanor (Stanford), will end up being quality picks.
FanDuel has Ward with +300 odds to win AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Las Vegas RB Ashton Jeanty is the +270 ‘chalk’ to win the award.
FanDuel has other proposition bets on the board for Ward. His ‘over/under’ for passing yards is 3,200.5 (-114 odds either way), while his total for TD passes is 18.5 (‘over’ -132, ‘under’ -102). The odds for Ward to lead the NFL in passing yards during the regular season are +8000 (or 80/1).
Ward is the +750 favorite to lead the NFL in interceptions during the regular season. He has 65/1 odds to pace the NFL in TD passes.
The Titans have +750 odds to win the AFC South. The Texans are the +110 favorites, while the Jags and Colts are at +300 and +310, respectively.
Tennessee has 230/1 odds to win Super Bowl LX.