Will Levis Clears Waivers: Why Titans Moved On

The Tennessee Titans waived Will Levis on Sunday, August 30, ending the former No. 33 overall pick's run in Nashville after 21 regular-season starts. The Titans announced the roster move, and Reuters reported that Tennessee had explored trade possibilities before moving on. Levis then cleared waivers on Monday, August 31, without being claimed and is now an unrestricted free agent. No next team or contract has been confirmed.

What is confirmed after Will Levis cleared waivers

Levis is not on Tennessee's initial 53-man roster. He spent the preseason competing for the No. 2 job behind Cam Ward, but Mitchell Trubisky won that role. Bleacher Report confirmed Monday that all 32 teams passed on a waiver claim, which means clubs can now negotiate a new contract with Levis directly. That result matters because it closes the waiver question without identifying a destination. Football Nation tracked Tennessee's broader offensive questions, including Wan'Dale Robinson's practice injury scare and the Seahawks-Titans preseason evaluation that put the quarterback depth behind Ward under a brighter light.

Original Football Nation editorial illustration: Will Levis delivers a preseason pass for Tennessee. AI-assisted artwork; not a photograph.

Why Tennessee moved on

The move is less about one preseason throw than the direction of the franchise. Levis flashed immediately as a rookie, throwing four touchdown passes in his first start, but Tennessee went 5-16 in his 21 starts across 2023 and 2024. His touchdown-to-interception ratio fell from 8-to-4 as a rookie to 13-to-12 in 2024. He then missed the entire 2025 season after right-shoulder surgery. By selecting Ward first overall in 2025 and signing Trubisky, the current football operation built a depth chart that no longer required Levis to develop on the active roster.

Period	Games/starts	Comp-att	Pass yards	TD-INT
2023 regular season	9/9	149-255	1,808	8-4
2024 regular season	12/12	190-301	2,091	13-12
2026 preseason	2/0	18-31	158	0-0

Table sources: NFL career statistics and NFL 2026 preseason game logs. Levis did not play in the 2025 regular season.

This is also a clean example of why cutdown moves require context. Cleveland's Cedric Tillman release showed how a familiar name can lose out to a roster's newer priorities. At quarterback, the stakes are even higher because teams must balance emergency depth, developmental snaps and the possibility that a reserve can be claimed before reaching the practice squad.

What happens next for Will Levis

Levis cleared waivers Monday, so another club can no longer claim his existing rookie contract. He is an unrestricted free agent who can negotiate with any team, including for an active-roster or practice-squad role. That distinction matters: no next team is confirmed, and listing speculative destinations as likely outcomes would run ahead of the transaction process. Clubs evaluating Levis will weigh his arm talent and 21 starts against his recent shoulder history, turnover rate and a full missed season.

The official Titans video above shows Levis completing a 28-yard fourth-down pass to Kylen Granson on August 29. The clip is relevant because it captures the counterpoint to the waiver: he still made NFL-caliber throws in his final Tennessee appearance. His preseason line—18 completions on 31 attempts for 158 yards without a touchdown or interception—was competent, but it did not overcome the roster's commitment to Ward and Trubisky.

What the move changes for Tennessee

For the Titans, the practical change is clarity. Ward is the undisputed starter, Trubisky is the veteran backup and there is no active-roster bridge to the previous quarterback plan. That differs from unresolved competitions such as Minnesota's J.J. McCarthy-Carson Wentz QB2 question or Cleveland's recent Shedeur Sanders debate. Tennessee has chosen certainty around Ward.

The fantasy impact is limited but real. Ward's value does not rise simply because Levis was waived; Ward was already the starter. Trubisky becomes the direct contingency option in deep two-quarterback and superflex formats, but he remains a low-priority add outside leagues that roster nearly every starting quarterback. The broader lesson mirrors Football Nation's analysis of Bryce Young's franchise-quarterback label and the Patrick Mahomes Week 1 injury plan: quarterback value depends on role certainty and health, not name recognition alone.

Original Football Nation editorial illustration: Will Levis leaves the Tennessee facility after the roster decision. AI-assisted artwork; not a photograph.

The strongest uncertainty

Clearing waivers does not prove that Levis cannot become a useful NFL backup or spot starter. Tennessee changed general managers, coaches and quarterback timelines during his tenure, and his 2025 shoulder absence interrupted the normal development window. A team may still see a 27-year-old quarterback with 21 starts, a strong arm and no interception in his brief 2026 preseason work. The uncertainty has shifted: the waiver result is settled, but his next contract, role and system remain unknown.

Football Nation verdict

Tennessee made the logical roster choice. Ward is the franchise investment and Trubisky offers a cleaner veteran backup profile, so keeping Levis as a third quarterback would have delayed an inevitable split. The league's decision not to claim his rookie contract shows that teams preferred to evaluate him as a free agent, not that his NFL career is over. The next factual checkpoint is a signed contract or confirmed visit—not a speculative landing-spot list.