Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Brian Callahan CRUSHES Will Levis, Levis Will Be Traded & Not Forced to Draft QB

Starting point is 00:00:00 Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan crushed Will Levis in a recent interview. I'm going to tell you what he said and what it means on today's edition of Locked On Titans. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off

Starting point is 00:00:42 your first purchase on today's show. I'm going to go over some recent comments from Brian Callahan where he crushed Will Levis and his performance last season. I'm also going to talk about why I think it's pretty likely that Will Levis is traded by the Tennessee Titans, despite the comments from Mike Borganzi on Wednesday. And then finally, I'll tell you why the Tennessee Titans should not feel forced into drafting their franchise quarterback this year because things change pretty rapidly

Starting point is 00:01:11 in football. But with that being said, before we dive in, do want to thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. But with that being said, again, want to get into these comments from

Starting point is 00:01:42 Brian Callahan. So this comes from an excellent article from Eastern freeze of A to Z sports. Did a long sit down with Brian Callahan that comes out on Friday. But some of the comments have come out early this week. And I was absolutely shocked. By how in depth and how in detail and how candid Brian Callahan was in his comments about Will Levis. And I think it shows us that Will Levis is not going to be with this team for much longer. Callahan said, quote, everything about Will Levis in the all season portion was encouraging in the sense that he was getting a new system down, handling the verbiage, the play calls, the process,

Starting point is 00:02:26 the huddle, all of that was good. You see Will's physical talent, you know, he's big and strong and tough. He could throw the ball and I thought he had a pretty strong training camp. And I think that when you watch how he started the Chicago game, that's what I saw. You know, I'm just gonna interject here and say that

Starting point is 00:02:44 if the best qualities of a quarterback you can mention are big, strong, and tough, I mean, are we talking about an offensive lineman? Are we talking about a linebacker here? I mean, big, strong, and tough is great. I mean, if I can have that in a quarterback, fantastic, but I need a little bit more than that. But Callahan continued saying, quote, and then, you know, I think the offensive line play affected him. We weren't good enough upfront. So we took a ton of hits takes a ton of sacks and then it sort of spirals from there.

Starting point is 00:03:13 And ultimately when you win three games, nothing was good enough. But certainly we weren't good enough at the quarterback spot over the course of the season to be in a position to win more games than three. Yeah. I mean, my God, I mean, he's given him a little bit of excuses there with the offensive line. I mean, reasons in reality, but certainly we weren't good enough at the quarterback spot over the course of the season

Starting point is 00:03:40 to be in a position to win more games than three. Yeah, he drives at home and look he says at the end of the day, it's my job to find a way to fit that right away and when we did things that I tried to play to as many strengths as will had and some of that's the deep play action three level throws, but the problem with that is you have to hold the ball. So that's where we were a little bit of a juxtaposition of trying to maintain some of the deep down the field throws and play action where you have time

Starting point is 00:04:12 to sort of see things develop. Will Levis needs time to see things develop because he doesn't do it very quickly back to the quote versus having to get the ball out and having to play a style of offense that relies on timing because you don't have a lot of time. And so how do we best get the ball out of our hands? That's probably not what will strengths are. Oh, my God. I mean, he's saying deep downfield throws, play action where you can

Starting point is 00:04:40 see it all clearly develop. Versus getting the ball out and having a play style with an offense relies on timing. He is literally saying that will Levis cannot play on time. see it all clearly develop versus getting the ball out and having a play style where the offense relies on timing. He is literally saying that Will Levis cannot play on time. Will Levis does not get the ball out of his hands. He says, and that's probably not what Will's strengths are. Will is not a precision timing passer at this point. You know, he's a young player. He is trying to make it seem like Will Levis can get better, but Will Levis, Will is not a precision timing passer at this point. He gives on you are a, those are things that you develop over time, but that's where we were in a bit of

Starting point is 00:05:15 a pickle that we were trying to protect the line and trying to make sure we get the ball out so we don't take negative plays. And you're mixing that with what will does well, which is throw the ball down the field. And you know, it takes time to get down the field. You have to protect to get down the field. I mean, he's just calling out exactly what it is right there. I mean, I am shocked that Brian Callahan was as candid as he was right there saying, well, is not a precision timing passer.

Starting point is 00:05:43 And you know, we had to try to mix in the deep play action and the downfield stuff to do what will does best. He is just putting it out there that will Levis is not a fit for what I want to do. He's just putting it out there, just plain and simple. I am no lie. I am shocked. I'm shocked. And he went on to say more things that I thought were shocking. He said what he's looking for in a quarterback is what's their nervous system like. Like what is it when things break down? How do they operate when the pocket is muddy?

Starting point is 00:06:15 How do they operate under critical duress and critical pressure? Those are the things I look at. How does their brain essentially respond? How does their body respond to those stressors? He's literally saying that Will Levis's nervous system sucks and he can't operate under critical directs and he can't operate under critical pressure and when a pocket is muddy. Now all those things are true but for Brian Callahan the head coach of the team to come out and just say it like I don't think that we need to hear anymore. It is pretty obvious.

Starting point is 00:06:46 Brian Callahan does not want Will Levis anymore. Like it is pretty clear. Now you can go through and try to shade this as positive and optimistic for Will Levis, but to come out and how it's not just his comments about Will. How strongly he talks about other quarterbacks, talking about that under pressure, talking about being able to operate in big environments when everybody knows that you're going to pass and you have to pass anyway.

Starting point is 00:07:14 Can you handle those moments? He brought up how poised Jayden Daniels has been. He's bringing up a rookie quarterback. Talking about that's what he's looking for in the same exact paragraphs as he's crushing his current second year quarterback who could not handle those situations. So listen I think it's clear from what Brian Callahan is saying right here he does not like Will Levis's game he does not think Will Levis's game is a fit they tried it for a year and now he's ready

Starting point is 00:07:43 to move on to quarterbacks with more poise and who can handle muddy pockets and play on time and be a precision timing passer. So I am just I guess I was just caught off guard by how forward and candid some of these candidates some of these comments really are but with that being said, I want to transition that into a conversation about comments from new Titans general manager Mike Borganzi, who kind of left the door open for Will Levis. I'm going to explain that and talk about their other comments on the quarterback position as well.

Starting point is 00:08:19 Before I do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. It's playoff time and if you're like me, you want to make the most of these final weeks of football action, that's where prize picks comes in. If you love football and you want a chance to win real money while watching the games, prize picks is the place for you. It's the best way to turn your sports opinions into cash with daily fantasy player projections with prize picks. You simply pick more or less on player stats like total passing yards,

Starting point is 00:08:46 rushing touchdowns catches for a shot to win up to 1000 times your money. You can make your picks in less than 60 seconds. Price picks has over 10 million members and billions and winnings awarded. It's clear that people are loving prize picks. I've been playing for a while now, and I'm having a blast this week week I'm looking at maybe Josh Allen for more than 230 passing yards, maybe Saquon Barkley for more than one touchdown. Here's a special offer for Locked on Titans listeners. Download the app today. Use the code LOCKED on NFL to get $50 instantly. After you play your first $5 lineup, that's prize picks. Download the prize picks app today.

Starting point is 00:09:25 Use the code locked on NFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup, it's prize picks. Run your game. the Titans fans. Let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast looking at some of the quarterback comments that we've gotten from the head coach

Starting point is 00:09:58 that we just went over now want to move to the general manager and some of his comments about the quarterback position as well including Will Levis and some of his comments about the quarterback position as well, including Will Levis and kind of want to go through the comments and explain what I'm really reading when I read these comments. Also want to talk about some other options of what I think the Titans might do based on these comments at the end of the show.

Starting point is 00:10:20 I'll tell you why I don't think the Titans should be forced to draft their quarterback of the future in this draft. But with that being said, do you want to thank you again for making the lockdown Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. But with that being said, we got a comment that raised some people's eyebrows from Mike Borganzi on Wednesday at his initial press conference and it had to do with Will

Starting point is 00:10:49 Levis. All right. So Mike Borganzi is talking about the quarterback position as a whole here. But Levis's name is mentioned. He says quote, we're keeping an open mind on this, but the quarterback is the most important position in sports So you have to solidify the quarterback position We're going to turn over every rock

Starting point is 00:11:15 Whether it's free agency draft or we have quarterbacks on the roster here Will on the roster here, will Levis, we're going to give him every opportunity to play and to compete, but we're going to attack this thing. We're going to be relentless attacking this until we find the answer. So first and foremost to the will Levis comment, he says, will we're going to give him every opportunity to play and compete. Why would he say that? It's clear that Brian Callahan's done with Will Levis.

Starting point is 00:11:53 Seems likely that the Titans organization is done with Will Levis. But why would Mike Borghansie say that? Well, as I mentioned on yesterday's show, when we were talking about this comment, just going through our summary of Mike Borganzi's comments on the roster. I said that the reality is whether or not you are going to trade Will Levis, whether it's true or false that you're going to trade Will Levis. This is exactly what you say. Yeah, we want him to compete. Yeah, we still believe in him. Yeah, we're going to give him

Starting point is 00:12:27 an opportunity. We're going to give him a chance. That's what you say and I know and I mentioned it yesterday. I know that there are people out there who act like, oh, you couldn't get a bag of chips for Will Levis. He has no value on the trade. That's insane. He's a quarterback who's shown some flashes as a starter. Who is on a rookie contract for two more seasons. Why wouldn't the Las Vegas Raiders take a chance on Will Levis if they can't draft a quarterback high enough? You know what I mean? What they're going to be teams out there that don't have a young option.

Starting point is 00:13:02 What if you're the New York jets? You bring Aaron Rogers back. Who's the young QB you're developing? Maybe you send a fifth round pick for Will Levis, sixth round pick for Will Levis, I think the fourth round to the sixth round. Is really what the Titans window is. I think at best they could maybe get a fourth round pick. I think they'll probably get a fifth round pick and at worst it's probably a sixth round pick, I think they'll probably get a fifth round pick and at worst, it's probably a sixth round pick but you got

Starting point is 00:13:27 two years of team control on a rookie contract. That's very very cost controlled and at the end of the day, Will Levis is still showing some flashes where a team might take a chance on him. You say this quarterback class isn't very good. Then why wouldn't you rather have Will Levis in the fifth round than Dylan Gabriel? You know what I mean? I think that the Titans will absolutely have a market and again, I know that some people raise their eyebrow at that comment like they can't be serious with this

Starting point is 00:13:54 Will Levis thing, but that is exactly what you want Mike Borganzi to say to try to not make it obvious that they're getting rid of him because then you lose even a little bit of leverage and you shouldn't lose any leverage. So that's a great comment. But I want to, I want to, I do want to focus on the rest of that comment where he says, you know, we're going to turn over every rock, whether it's free agency draft or we have quarterbacks on the roster, but he mentioned free agency in the draft. We're going to attack this thing. We're going to be relentless attacking this until we find an answer, which brings me to what I think ultimately happens this year for the Tennessee Titans at quarterback. I think they go out and get a veteran, whether

Starting point is 00:14:37 it be Sam Donald at the high end and Aaron Rogers, a Derek Carr, a Kirk Cousins. I think the Titans go that route. I really do. I think they're going to be veteran quarterbacks available. Are they great? No. But if you're Brian Callahan and you need to win right away, also I continue to point out and will continue to point out that Mike Borganzi came from Kansas city.

Starting point is 00:15:01 They sat Patrick Mahomes for a year and he said they were tempted to put them in and they were tempted to change their plan, but they stuck with their plan and look how it worked out. Think about it. Uh, you also have to take into account that Chad Brinker came from green Bay. Is there another franchise in the NFL that has a model of sit your young quarterback and let them learn than green Bay? So with Chad Brinker and Mike Borgonzi, both guys who have been part of

Starting point is 00:15:30 organizations who have sat their quarterbacks and let them sit, I don't think that we should be expecting the Titans to draft a quarterback and play that quarterback immediately, which means that you have to have a veteran in there that you realistically think could be the starter for your team. And, and, free agency happens before the draft. So the Titans will likely go out and get a veteran no matter what they do at quarterback, whether it's number one overall or later,

Starting point is 00:16:01 and that's why it gets me to the second part. I think the Titans go out and get a veteran quarterback. I really do think Derek Carr is the most realistic if he hits the market because he's got experience with Brian Callahan. He's a veteran who, while he's completely middle of the road, probably a little below average at this time, he's still a veteran that knows the system, can do quick timing passing, get the ball out of his hands very, very quickly, operate an offense. It gives Brian Callahan the best opportunity to keep his job for more than just next year. If the Titans can win six, seven games,

Starting point is 00:16:35 Brian Callahan will keep his job for a third season. And Derek Carr is just good enough to get you to six or seven wins. Is that the right thing for the Titans going forward in the future? I don't know, but I think what's most likely is the Titans are going to trade Will Levis. They're gonna go get a veteran quarterback that they expect to be their starter, and they're gonna draft a rookie quarterback

Starting point is 00:16:55 in the mid rounds. That is my expectation, is that they are gonna take a quarterback in the mid rounds of the draft, because they're being aggressive about it. Is it likely that that player turns into a starter? No, but if we're trading Will Levis and we're bringing in a veteran, we need a young quarterback here to give us some aggressiveness, right? Like that is like, maybe he develops, maybe he turns into something when they'd

Starting point is 00:17:18 say that they're going to be as aggressive as possible to attack the quarterback position to me, that means taking quarterbacks in the mid rounds every single year until you find a guy, you're going to take a chance on a quarterback. So I think Levis has traded. I think the Titans get a veteran. I think that they draft a rookie in the mid rounds and that's their version of attacking it. And I know that what a lot of people think when they hear that is.

Starting point is 00:17:45 No, we need to draft a quarterback number one in the NFL draft. But I am here to tell you that I don't think that the Titan should feel forced to draft quarterback number one overall. Quite frankly, I don't think the Titan should be feel forced to take a quarterback at all. And a lot of it has to do with the amount of talent that is available in the next two years. And I think the conversation around those quarterbacks is ridiculous. And I'm going to go over it right now. Before I do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. I love going to live events, whether it be sports, music, theater, or comedy. One of my favorite memories was attending a concert last year.

Starting point is 00:18:24 The energy and the excitement were unforgettable and buying the tickets on Game Time was unforgettable as well because now Game Time has made it even easier to get tickets to your favorite events with our new feature Game Time Picks. This feature filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets just to get the right one. Also, they have other great features outside of Game Time picks like a panoramic view from your seat so you literally know what

Starting point is 00:18:55 you're going to be looking at when you sit down. Also, the app has an all-in feature to show you what your price is, the total cost upfront, with no surprise fees at checkout. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code LOCKDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply, again, create an account, redeem the code LOCKDONNFL for $20 off, download the Game Time app today.

Starting point is 00:19:23 What time is it? It's game time. Titans fans. Let's cap off today's edition of the locked on Titans podcast. We talked about Brian Callahan's comments on Will Levis. Woo. That was pretty eyeopening. We talked about the comments from Titans general manager, Mike Borgonsi

Starting point is 00:19:55 about Will Levis and the other quarterbacks and how they're going to approach that. But now I kind of want to have a conversation about the next few years of quarterbacks and how this factors into my opinion that the Titans don't need to take a quarterback number one overall. They don't need to take a quarterback at all. The Titans should not feel rushed to take a quarterback in this draft. All right. So you look at some of the top quarterbacks that are going to be in college football in the next few years. Okay? Not all of these guys are coming out in 2026

Starting point is 00:20:30 This is probably a mixture of quarterbacks that'll come out over the next two years You think about Sam Levitt from Arizona State you think about Drew Aller from Penn State you think about DJ Lagway I love DJ Lagway from Florida you think about about arch manning from Texas. Think about Lenora sellers. I love Lenora sellers from South Carolina, Garrett Nussmeyer from LSU, Carson Beck, but I'm not included him in this discussion. I want nothing to do with Carson Beck. Um, Cade club Nick from Clemson, Nico. I cannot, I've tried to pronounce Nico's last name quarterback from Tennessee.

Starting point is 00:21:06 I can't do it. I can't, I've heard it pronounced. I've tried to say it back. I cannot do it. I literally can't. So it just can't compute in my brain. But the point is, think about all the quarterbacks that I just mentioned it. That's 10 quarterbacks, really nine, cause I don't like Carson Beck, but that's

Starting point is 00:21:23 like eight quarterbacks that I all think have great potential. Okay. Now my favorites in there are DJ Lagway, Archmanning, Lenora Sellers. Those are my personal favorites, but let me make this point to you. For everybody out there who's saying none of those guys are as good as cam ward, none of those guys are as good as Chedur None of those guys are as good as Shadr Sanders. Okay, how do you know that? How can you know that right now?

Starting point is 00:21:51 Let me give you some examples. Joe Burrow was a day three pick until his final season at LSU. If this, imagine if we were a year before Joe Burrow got drafted and you were saying Joe Burrow ain't better. Joe Burrow ain't better. There's nobody out there who's better. And then a year later, Joe Burrow went on his run with LSU and now he's the number one pick and nobody would have said that Joe Burrow isn't better than Cheddar Sanders or cam ward. Right. Right. But he was a day three pick at this time for all those guys I just listed.

Starting point is 00:22:32 All right. Think about Jayden Daniels before Jayden Daniels final season at LSU. He was considered a day two pick like third, fourth round, maybe second round at best. But then he had this year he developed as a player and then he went number two overall and was worth it. Think about a guy like cam ward. Nobody had cam ward as the number one pick in the draft before this

Starting point is 00:23:02 college football season. Nobody was looking at cam ward and saying, oh, you can't pass on Cam Ward. Nobody was saying that before this year. Nobody, even the people who want Cam Ward go back a year ago. They weren't this bullish on Cam Ward. They didn't know. So don't tell me that you 100% know for certain that Sam Levitt or Drew Aller or DJ Lagway or Arch Manning or Lenora Sellers or Garrett Nussmeyer,

Starting point is 00:23:31 Kade Clubnick or Nico Amalavola? I can't do it. I told you guys. Don't tell me that you know for a hundred percent certain that none of those quarterbacks that I just named will be franchise quarterbacks and better prospects than Cheneur Sanders and Cam Ward. You don't know that. I don't know that they will be, but we don't know that they won't. So you can't tell me those guys aren't better.

Starting point is 00:23:55 You don't know that if it was Joe Burrow before his final year, if it was Jayden Daniels before his final year, if it was Cam Ward a year ago today, you would be saying that those guys aren't good enough. So you don't know. You don't know that. So the Titans don't need to feel rushed into taking a quarterback if they aren't 100% sold on either of these quarterbacks. There are other ways to do it. Go get a veteran, take a quarterback in the fourth round. Go get a veteran take a quarterback in the fourth round and then if you don't win games or even if you win games Remember the Kansas City Chiefs trade it up for Patrick Mahomes If the Titans trade down this year and get an extra first round pick next year They can use both their first round pick and the pick that they traded for to move up and get whatever quarterback they want

Starting point is 00:24:43 Will it be that simple? No, of course not, but it's possible. So I'm just saying, do not tell me that, you know, 100% for certain that none of the quarterbacks that I just named off are going to be better than cam warden, Chedder Sanders. You don't know that college is about development. People develop at a rapid pace during their college age. That's why we talk about age with the Will Levis conversation.

Starting point is 00:25:11 Everybody's like, why does age matter so much? Will Levis is, it's just, you know, technically hasn't even started a full season. Experience is more important than age. No, it's not. Because scientifically speaking, the ability, the aptitude for a male brain to develop at that rate for a football player to develop at that rate is more likely in your college years and when you get to 25, 24, 26, it's less likely that you're going to develop. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Starting point is 00:25:47 While that's not entirely true, there is some truth to it. The older a player gets, the harder it is for them to take fundamental leaps in their development. But college players, that is exactly why we worry about the development of Will Levis at that age, because development happens much more often at a rapid pace when you're younger. So these guys in college who they are today after this season isn't who they're going to be next year, a year from now after another season of college football where you develop

Starting point is 00:26:18 at a rapid pace. So am I telling you that I know 100% for certain that one of the guys that I just named or multiple of the guys I just named are going to be better than Cam Ward and Chedurah Sanders? No, I don't know that for certain. But my point is you don't know for certain the other way. You don't know for certain that none of those guys will not surpass Cam Ward and Chedurah Sanders' players. So all I am here to preach is keep an open mind. The Titans shouldn't feel forced to do anything because the reality

Starting point is 00:26:50 is out of those eight, nine names that we just talked about. Two or three of them are going to end up as better prospects than Cam Warden Chedure Sanders and just playing the odds. But with that being said, that's going to do it for me today, folks. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. As always, I am your host, Tyler Roland, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Brian Callahan CRUSHES Will Levis, Levis Will Be Traded & Not Forced to Draft QB

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.