Who Should I Start? Will Levis or Aidan O'Connell

Wednesday, July 23, 5:05 PM

The Tennessee Titans placed quarterback Will Levis (shoulder) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday, ending his season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It was announced on Monday that Levis would undergo season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder on July 29. The 26-year-old has decided to have the surgery to ensure his long-term health based on medical opinions, and he should be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign. The problem for Levis is that he didn't look good when given the starting job in 2024, and then the Titans selected Cam Ward with the first overall pick this April. If Ward handles himself well and stays healthy in his first NFL season, Levis will be returning in 2026 and strictly a backup without a chance to regain a starting gig. The surgery also confirms what we already knew: That Ward is the team's starter in 2025.

Tuesday, November 18, 3:43 PM

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said that the team has to make a decision soon on whether to activate quarterback Aidan O'Connell (wrist) to the active 53-man roster or place him on season-ending Injured Reserve, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. Carroll also said that O'Connell has been getting reps against the first-team defense in practice to "bring him along as fast as they can." The 27-year-old was a full participant in practice all of last week, but he wasn't activated for the team's Monday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Kenny Pickett has been serving as Geno Smith's backup with O'Connell on IR. Interestingly, O'Connell has been repping against the first-team defense, but Caroll hasn't given any indications that the team is close to making a change at QB from Smith despite another ugly loss on Monday night.