Brian Callahan didn’t hesitate to debunk any thoughts of a Titans quarterback controversy minutes after his first win as an NFL head coach.
“A hundred percent,” Callahan said, confirming Will Levis remains his starter following Tennessee’s 31-12 win at Miami on Monday night. “He’s healthy. It was not a decision based on anything but his health and protecting him, particularly with the bye week and a shoulder that didn’t feel great. I didn’t want to put him back out there and I knew I was going to run the ball quite a bit, so that was really what affected it. But he’s our starter when he’s healthy and we’re ready to roll with him”
Callahan is ready to roll with him, but Levis has been rocky in four starts. That inconsistency showed up again Monday night on the game’s first series. After driving the Titans into Miami territory, Levis threw a short interception to defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, then left with shoulder soreness on the next possession, diving for the marker while trying to elude Calais Campbell.
While Mason Rudolph led Tennessee on all seven of its scoring drives, longtime beat writer Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com thinks Callahan made the correct call.
“It’s a Levis-examination season,” said Kuharsky Tuesday morning with Robby & Rexrode on 102.5. “Later on in the year, most of time, putting in the middling backup to get a couple wins is frowned upon by people. For some reason, there’s a share of them that want it now. I’m generally a win-at-all-costs guy and even I think this year think that they should ride with Levis, get all the information they can on him, and take whatever draft pick comes with that – which is going to be better than what they get with Rudolph.”
While Rudolph didn’t commit a turnover in 3½ quarters of relief Monday night, Levis has drawn Callahan’s sideline wrath for several curious decisions this season. Kuharsky said everyone wants to see examples of Levis recognizing a defender like Ogbah squatting on a route but patience is prudent considering the quarterback has just 13 career starts and only four in this new offense. Patience is wearing thin, though.
“Is there enough time to wait?” Kuharsky asked. “Probably not. Certainly, they want to give him every chance to be that guy in Nashville first.”
That next chance won’t come until Oct. 13. The Titans (1-3) get an early bye week before hosting Indianapolis (2-2) in Week 6.