Winless Titans know they need to protect young QB Will Levis and quickly

Published Sep. 25, 2024 4:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Left guard Peter Skoronski summed up the Tennessee Titans ' biggest motivation to protect quarterback Will Levis better quickly.

"No one’s coming to save us," the second-year left guard said Wednesday. "I mean, it’s going to be us and what we do and we’ve got to get better. And that’s the only way to fix it is by working hard and getting better. I think everyone’s had a great attitude this week in terms of guys are just really, really hungry for a win and are going to do what it takes to get that.”

Among the issues why Tennessee remains winless has been the inability to keep Levis upright. Only Cleveland has allowed more sacks (16) than Tennessee (15) so far in the NFL, and Levis has thrown 22 fewer passes than Deshaun Watson.

Cleveland at least has a victory while Tennessee (0-3) heads to Miami (1-2) on Monday night looking for its first of the season.

The Titans knew they would face growing pains even as first-year coach Brian Callahan cautioned putting the pieces together would take time, and five of 24 new players are starting on offense. The offensive line's new starters are free agent signee Lloyd Cushenberry at center and rookie JC Latham drafted seventh overall out of Alabama.

Tennessee also had an unexpected retirement during camp. Free agent signee Saahdiq Charles was working at right guard when he just left in early August and was placed on the reserve/retired list. Tennessee turned to Dillon Radunz, a second-round pick out of North Dakota State in 2021. Radunz now has matched the three starts at right guard he had combined in his first three seasons.

Nicholas Petit-Frere, a third-round pick out of Ohio State in 2022, started at right tackle. He was pulled in last week's 30-14 loss to Green Bay and replaced by Jaelyn Duncan, a sixth-round selection out of Maryland in 2023, for the final 19 snaps.

Who starts Monday night at right tackle will depend on practice, and the Titans still may switch during the game.

“Sometimes when guys get pulled from games, it’s not always necessarily means that their starting job is gone,” Callahan said. “It just means that they weren’t playing very well in that game. So, we’ll see. We’ll let them both practice, they’re both going to get reps, and they might even both play. We’ll see how that looks. I don’t have any real definitive answer on that at the current moment.”

No matter what, the Titans have to give Levis more time to throw. The quarterback led the Titans to a thrilling comeback in Miami last December for one of his three victories as a rookie. His record as a starter now is 3-9, and nobody in the NFL has turned it over more than the 33rd pick overall out of Kentucky in April 2023.

Levis, who was intercepted only four times as a rookie, already has five with two pick-6s. He also has lost three fumbles — two when sacked and stripped of the ball.

Callahan said he's learned a lot about his players, especially how they react on game days. That includes what schemes suit Levis better and what helps the offensive line.

“I don’t want to give away too much because that process is still ongoing,” Callahan said. "But there’s definitely things that I’ve learned every week and refined our process, refined my own process. I felt more confident calling plays Sunday than I did the Sunday before, and about putting our guys in the right spot.”

Upcoming roster moves

Callahan said starting CB Chidobe Awuzie likely will be placed on injured reserve within a couple of days, though that decision hasn't been made yet. Awuzie left the Green Bay loss early with an injured groin. ... LB Luke Gifford, promoted from the practice squad each of the first three games, also will be signed to the active roster at some point.

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