Injured Titans QB Will Levis Still Hopes to Play in Final Preseason Game Friday

NASHVILLE — Training camp and the preseason games are the one part of the football calendar where being a backup quarterback is a big deal. It's when the spotlight shines the brightest.

So for rookie Will Levis — the Tennessee Titans' high-profile second-round pick out of Kentucky during the 2023 NFL Draft — the timing of what looks like a left thigh strain last Thursday stunk to high heaven.

He missed the tail end of Thursday's joint workout with the Minnesota Vikings, and then couldn't play in the Saturday night preseason game, leaving Malik Willis — his competition for the Titans' backup quarterback job behind Ryan Tannehill — to play all four quarters.

Levis warmed up before the game, and threw some passes, sporting a wrap around his left thigh. He didn't practice on Tuesday, but was out on the field in shorts. He didn't have any wrap on his thigh, but deferred to head coach Mike Vrabel to talk about the specifics of the injury.

Vrabel didn't say anything, either. But Levis is hoping to be back on the field soon, and he's preparing to play on Friday night against the New England Patriots.

“It’s nothing too serious, but I’m just going to make sure I take the right steps to get back on the road to recovery,” Levis said after practice on Tuesday, “That’s what I’m aiming for (to play on Friday). I don’t know any timeline but I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”

Levis started slow in camp, learning his way into the pro game. But he'd done some nice things the past couple of weeks, and played almost half of the Titans' first preseason game at Chicago, where he was 9-for-14 passing for 85 yards.

#Titans QB @will_levis on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/9eV1GVGMdZ
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 22, 2023

Missing that important time on the field against the Vikings sets him back a bit. But he's hoping it's a short-term thing.

“It is what it is. I think the first couple of days that I had it and where I found out I wasn’t going to play in Minnesota, I was definitely down,'' Levis said. "Coach Vrabs was kind of quick to know that I was upset and picked me up. He was like, 'hey, keep your head up, you can’t do anything about it. We've got to be smart with it.Just listen to the trainers and do whatever you can as a teammate whenever you’re not able to play.' ”

Levis threw a few balls on Tuesday, but mostly watched and charted plays.

I asked Titans coach Mike Vrabel if he was ''hoping and expecting for Will Levis to play Friday night.''

"Well, I hope,'' Vrabel said. "I don't know what I expect, but I hope that he can. I don't know if he will or not.''

Levis did everything but practice on Tuesday.

''I'm fully involved in the meetings and being however helpful I could be on the field today. I was still part of the install and I'm still preparing for Friday against New England, other than taking the reps on the field and doing everything else.''

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