FLOWERY BRANCH — Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill sustained an ankle injury in a 24-16 loss to the Ravens on Oct. 15 and likely will not play against the Falcons on Sunday (1 p.m. Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee).
If Tannehill can’t play, Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said that Will Levis and Malik Willis both will play. There was a report from NFL media that Vrabel will start Levis.
Levis, who was the 33rd player taken in the NFL draft this year, would make his first start. Willis, who played at Roswell High/Westlake and at Auburn and Liberty, took over for Tannehill against the Ravens.
“The young guys, you’ve got to go back and look at film,” Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray said. “You’ve got to go back to the (exhibition games), see what they did.”
The Falcons selected Desmond Ridder with the 74th pick in the third round of the 2022 draft. Willis was selected by the Titans 12 picks later by former general manager Jon Robinson.
Willis played in eight games and made three starts last season. Robinson was terminated in the middle of last season.
New general manager Ran Carthon, who started as a scout with the Falcons in 2008, selected Levis.
“We know who Malik is,” Gray said. “We’ve watched him last year when he got a chance to come in. Strong arm. A guy who can scramble. Get out in space and throw the ball deep.”
Levis started his career at Penn State and finished at Kentucky.
“With the young quarterback, you’ve got to go back to college,” Gray said.
The Falcons, who had the eighth pick in the draft, scouted the top quarterbacks in 2023.
“Obviously, he has a big-time arm,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Very smart player. Ball came out quick. Played in a lot of big games at Kentucky.”
Smith will not be surprised to see Levis.
“They drafted him for a reason,” Smith said. “They put a lot of draft capital into their offense this season, right? Up front, the two linemen – (Peter) Skoronski and (Jaelyn) Duncan – obviously Levis and all across. (Trade acquisition) DeAndre Hopkins, they’ve got some top-shelf talent on offense that they invested in this offseason.”
