The New York Jets hosted Will Levis for a workout on Thursday, bringing in the former Titans second-round pick alongside reigning UFL MVP Jack Plummer. Levis went unclaimed on waivers after Tennessee cut him following a rough preseason, losing the backup job behind Cam Ward to Mitchell Trubisky.
On paper this looks like a low-stakes look at a young arm. The timing is what makes it fascinating.
The Jets open the regular season against the Titans, and Levis just spent the entire offseason studying Tennessee’s new scheme from the inside. Even if he lands only on the practice squad, the intel value alone probably justifies the plane ticket for Aaron Glenn’s staff.
Levis is not the kind of prospect teams give up on quietly. He was a top-40 pick two drafts ago with a cannon arm and enough physical tools to interest half the league every time he becomes available. The problem has always been decision-making. His interception rate ballooned last year, his sack numbers were ugly, and his mechanics start unraveling the moment the pocket collapses around him.
Still, if you are the Jets, why not take the swing? Justin Fields is the starter, and behind him the depth chart is a collection of guys whose ceilings you already know. Levis, at 27, at least offers a lottery ticket with real physical traits.
The bigger question is whether Levis wants to be a project again. Reports have linked him to at least two other clubs, and if he can secure an active roster spot elsewhere he probably takes it over holding a clipboard in Florham Park. Practice-squad money is not why anyone signs up for the NFL.
There is also an awkward optics angle. Signing a quarterback the week before you play his former team is a headline generator, and the Jets front office has spent this offseason trying very hard not to generate headlines. Glenn wants a quieter building, a workmanlike identity, and a Week 1 win over a division-blueprint opponent to prove the corner has been turned.
Bringing in Levis muddles that story a little. If he signs and the Jets pull an upset thanks to some scheme intel, the narrative writes itself in a way that overshadows Fields. If Tennessee wins, every sideline clip of Levis becomes a punchline.
My take: sign him to the practice squad, keep him quiet, and treat this as the low-cost developmental swing it should be. The Jets are not one Levis reclamation project away from contending. But they could use a functional quarterback room by December, and this qualifies as a smart, cheap step in that direction.
If Levis blossoms, great, you have an asset. If he does not, you cut him after Week 4 and move on. This is how competent organizations use the practice squad, and for once the Jets look like they might be one of them.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
