The NFL cut 1,184 players over the weekend. The biggest name on the pile is Will Levis.
The Tennessee Titans released their former second-round pick on Saturday, ending an era that never really got going. Levis started 21 games over three seasons, threw more interceptions than his coaching staff could stomach, and lost his job to Cam Ward when Tennessee took the Miami quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in April.
The Titans had two options. Carry Levis as an expensive backup and let him play out his rookie deal. Or eat the cap hit and give the spot to a younger camp arm. They chose the second one, and Levis is now looking for work with a stigma he did not have 12 months ago.
Somebody will take a flyer. Levis has real physical tools. His arm is legitimate. He is a big body who can move around and buy time. He was a first-round talent when the Titans traded up for him in 2023, and the traits have not disappeared.
What went wrong is coaching, protection, and the Titans’ inability to build around him. The offensive line was among the league’s worst. The play-caller changed twice. His receiver room was thin. Levis compounded the problem by pressing every time the team fell behind, which happened almost every week.
The Colts, Browns, and Steelers all have quarterback situations that could theoretically absorb a project. Levis to Cleveland would give him a chance to sit behind an established veteran and reset. That does not fix him. But it is the type of environment where a career can be salvaged.
Elsewhere in cut country: Anthony Richardson survived in Indianapolis and will now compete for the No. 2 job behind Daniel Jones, which is a sentence that would have sounded impossible six months ago. Jacksonville released Nate Mullens and DeeJay Dallas. The Chicago Bears sent defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. to Atlanta in exchange for draft capital and a mid-round pick swap.
The Rams finalized Aaron Donald’s un-retirement deal on Saturday. The Dolphins cut starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson. The Patriots traded for Vikings offensive tackle Rouse rather than release him. The Giants are reportedly listening on Darius Slayton.
All of it was compressed into 48 hours because the San Francisco 49ers fly to Melbourne this week for their Sept. 10 season opener against the Rams. The league moved cutdown day to Sunday to accommodate the international trip.
The waiver wire is where the real fun starts now. Every one of those 1,184 released players is available. Teams have 24 hours to put in claims on players under four accrued seasons, and the priority order is based on last year’s record. That means the Patriots, Titans, and Browns get first crack.
Levis is not on waivers because he has four accrued seasons. He is a free agent. He can pick his next chapter. The Titans just made sure he has to find it somewhere else.
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.
