During the Christmas season, the Tennessee Titans, like Santa, will turn to Rudolph to light their way.
The Titans will start Mason Rudolph at quarterback on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, head coach Brian Callahan announced Wednesday, sending Will Levis to the bench.
Callahan added that he still believes in Levis and that the decision pertains to this season and not Levis' career in Tennessee.
"I'm not worried about any long-term discussions at the moment, I'm trying to get this week done and win this week," Callahan said. "Those are all things we can revisit again at a later date. Yeah, I expect Will to be the backup and he is, he's under contract year. I still believe in Will. I still believe he can improve. Those things haven't changed, but for right now, this is the best decision for our football team."
The Titans benched Levis in Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals following three interceptions and a lost fumble. Turnovers have been a bugaboo for the second-year quarterback, who has thrown 12 interceptions to 12 TD passes this season.
Entering the season, there were questions about whether the big-armed Levis could thrive in Callahan's system. Could he make the right reads and matriculate the ball down the field? While there were a few splashes here and there, most of his play was ugly. The first-year head coach gave the former second-round pick plenty of leash to turn it around, even returning him to the starting lineup after missing three games due to injury. Yet the turnovers persisted.
"It wasn't for lack of coaching or pouring into," Callahan said. "We've given, at every turn, as much as we can to try to put Will in position to succeed. He's shown improvement. There's a lot of things he's improved at. It hasn't been enough consistency at this moment. So, those are the things that we're trying to fix. Those aren't easy decisions ever."
It marks the second consecutive December in which Rudolph has taken over for a disappointing young quarterback. He was inserted into the starting lineup Christmas week in Pittsburgh last year and didn't give up the gig even when Kenny Pickett returned healthily.
Rudolph has started three games for the Titans this season, blowout losses in Buffalo and Detroit and a win over New England. Sunday in relief, he completed 80% of his passes for 209 yards with two TDs and an interception.
Benching Levis for a veteran on a one-year contract will jumpstart questions about what the Titans will do at the quarterback position in 2025. They could chase the likes of Sam Darnold or turn to the draft to select their future signal-caller. Tennessee currently sits with the No. 5 overall draft selection with three weeks remaining.
