Titans: Who Should be the Titans QB2?

As the 2025 Tennessee Titans season quickly approaches another revelation has occurred. Back-up quarterback and last year’s primary starter Will Levis was announced to be having season ending shoulder surgery that occurred last season. Although many people predicted Levis to be traded before week 1, he was still this team's backup quarterback. This now raises the question, do the Titans keep the guys they have in house to fill the vacant QB2 spot or do they go another route? Here is all the realistic options with our takes:

Tim Boyle

Tim Boyle is entering his seventh NFL season with his seventh different team with almost no success to show for his career. Remarkably, he finished his college career with a 1-13 TD-INT ratio and somehow still made NFL rosters. His pro career hasn’t been much better with a 5-13 ratio and 58.1 rating. Pretty Awful. I’m sure he is a great guy and that probably has helped him stay around so long, but c’mon . . . this guy could not be a competent NFL quarterback if god forbid, Cam goes down. On top of that, he has no kind of pedigree to be mentoring our young franchise savior Cam Ward. All around, this guy should not be our QB2. Sadly, Chad Brinker and General Manager Mike Borganzi said in a press conference they are likely keeping him at QB2 for now, but let’s hope that’s all smoke in mirrors. 

Brandon Allen

The second and final in-house option is Brandon Allen, who is entering his sixth year in the NFL but eleventh year out of college. Like Boyle, Allen has bounced around from team to team, but unlike Boyle he has put up numbers of some kind. He has 11-8 TD-INT ratio in his career as well as a 76.2 rating. Don’t get me wrong, the 33 year old journeyman is not impressive at all, but he has to be a step up from Boyle . . . right? Maybe I’m being too harsh on both, but if Ward goes down and one of these guys is leading the team, go ahead and put our games on Tubi. Like Boyle, this pick brutally uninspires me for one, he’s bad, and two, he’s no mentor.

Other Options

Joe Flacco

Here is an option that ten years ago would have cost half of our salary cap. The veteran Flacco spent the first twelve years of his career being the franchise guy for the Ravens which included a Super Bowl win. After now two-time MVP Lamar Jackson took his job he joined the Broncos. Since then, he has had several other stops where he struggled to find his feet. The only notable thing Flacco has done in his career since leaving Baltimore is coming off the couch to lead Cleveland to the playoffs in 2023. He now finds himself back in Cleveland after a year in Indianapolis. He is amidst a four man QB battle with his opponents being Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders. Early indications from camp point to either him or Pickett winning the job. If he were to lose, I would love to see the Titans offer a late round pick swap to Cleveland in exchange for the veteran. Flacco has a very notable career and has played some of the most snaps of any quarterback ever. This makes him an A+ mentor candidate for Ward which could make up for his lesser play if he came in. This is a fantastic option and strong contender for the most optimal target.

Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston, or how most Titans fans remember him, the guy who went one selection higher than Mariota in 2015. Titans fans have not lost much sleep though as Winston and Mariota careers have very closely correlated. Like Mariota, Winston lost his starting job after the 2019 season, but he was down in Tampa. He then moved on to 4 injury riddled years in New Orleans before spending his 2024 starting in half of Cleveland’s games. Winston is the personification of ‘the Gunslinger’ quarterback mold, but less Brett Favre and more Daniel Jones. He is known for throwing the most beautiful ball one throw and then the next being picked off in triple coverage. For example, in 2015, Winston threw for 5,109 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions. In 2024 Cleveland was depleted so they let him slip back into that role and he did just that, in half a season he had a 13-12 TD-INT ratio. This offseason he signed with the Giants assuming he would start or at least be in a position to earn the job, but the Giants later signed Russell Wison and drafted Jaxon Dart in the first round. This reportedly blindsided Winston and left him with a bad taste in his mouth. If the Giants truly won’t use him, they probably will shop him to backup needy teams, and that is the Titans. I foresee a Winston trade being once again a late round pick swap. Like Flacco, Winston would for sure be a veteran with enough experience to mentor Cam and help him out in his first year. And plus, if he had to start he would 100% give us something to talk about.

Carson Wentz

Carson Wentz has had a very odd career in the grand scheme of things. He was drafted second overall by Philadelphia in 2016 and was immediately given the keys to the franchise. In only his second year he was putting together a MVP campaign before going down for the year in week 15. As most of you know, Nick Foles would take over and lead the Eagles to a fairy tale Super Bowl win over the Patriots; however, Wentz would keep his job for the next year. He would continue to face injury issues on top of him never being able to play close to how he once did. He was eventually benched in 2020 and then traded to the Colts in 2021. After being the primary starter for Indianapolis and Washington in 2021 and 2022 Wentz would move to backup roles with the Rams and Chiefs in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Wentz is actually a free agent as of July 29th 2025, so the Titans could very easily obtain him. Although it may not seem like it, Wentz has actually started more games than Jameis Winston in his career. This is why I believe he also would be a good option if a veteran leader is a priority like I presume. Although not impressive, I would take him over Boyle and Allen in a game all day.

My Pick

After considering all 5 men, I have come to the conclusion that Carson Wentz is the best option on the Board. I came to this conclusion for a couple reasons. One, I believe Wentz is objectively better than Allen and Boyle and could actually put watchable football on TV if he had too. Secondly, he has enough experience in his 10 year career to mentor Ward and show him the ropes. He could be the Alex Smith to Cam Ward’s Mahomes. And third, he is just waiting for a minimum contract, basically free. Someone has to get that money, so why not Wentz? Although Flacco and Winston might be more exciting and better, they come with a trade that only complicates things and costs the Titans, although maybe low, a pick. Ultimately, if I were General Manager Mike Borganzi I would call Carson Wentz and welcome him to the Titans as our quarterback 2 for the 2025 campaign.