The Jets recently signed former Titans quarterback Will Levis to their practice squad. Today, we break him down in detail.
The 27-year-old Levis is listed at 6’4” and 229 pounds and was a second round pick out of Kentucky in 2023. He started 21 games in his NFL career, winning just five, and missed last season due to injury.
Levis is a three-star high school recruit, whose college career began at Penn State, where he redshirted his first season in 2018.
He had a chance to start his first game the following season but after two years with the Nittany Lions, he attempted just 102 passes, completing 61 for 644 yards with three touchdowns. He also rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns.
Levis decided to transfer to Kentucky in 2021 and passed for 367 yards in his first start – a sign of how far he’s come since his first start at Penn State where he carried the ball 17 times and passed for just 15 times.
In 13 starts, Levis completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,827 yards and 24 touchdowns while also rushing for 376 yards and nine scores. However, he led the SEC with 13 interceptions.
Levis’ second season with the Wildcats saw him start 11 games and he passed for over 2,400 yards and 19 touchdowns with another two touchdowns on the ground. However, he threw another 10 interceptions.
Heading into the 2023 NFL draft, Levis’ stock seems to be on the rise, with some reports indicating he is under consideration to be selected first overall. However, he ended up dropping out of the first round with the Titans moving up to select him with the first pick in two days.
Levis struggled in camp and the preseason, and started the year as the number three quarterback. However, he got a chance to start his first game in late October and threw four touchdown passes in a win over the Falcons. A few weeks later, he passed for 327 yards and two late touchdowns in a comeback win against the Dolphins.
Overall, however, he was just 3-6 as a starter, completing 58 percent of his passes for 1,808 yards and eight touchdowns with four interceptions. He also rushed for a touchdown.
Levis began his second season as the starter but got off to a rough start as the Titans lost four of their first five with Levis leading the league in turnovers. He would miss time with an injury midway through the season and after some good performances, his play dipped and he sat out down the stretch. He finished the season with just two wins and 12 interceptions in 12 starts. He had just over 2,000 passing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Before the 2025 season, the Titans drafted Cam Ward first overall and then announced that Levis needed shoulder surgery and would miss the entire year.
After a poor camp this year, indications are that Levis requested his release at the end of the preseason and was picked up by the Jets after he cleared waivers.
Let’s move on to some more in-depth analysis of what Levis brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Levis has good size and large hands, showing athleticism, toughness and power as a runner. He posted a 34-inch vertical and a 124-inch broad jump during his combine workout.
Levis’ arm strength is considered one of his best attributes and he’s not afraid to rip off passes in a tight window.
He can also be effective on deep throws, and puts a lot of air under the ball, throwing from the pocket and on the move.
Levis’ completion percentage in college was in the mid-60s which is acceptable, but largely a product of the fact that he threw a lot of dump-offs. To his credit, he improved his completion percentage from 58 to 63 in his second NFL season.
His ball placement has been inconsistent throughout his college and professional career, but the bigger issue seems to be that he often gets caught on throws.
With that said, he will occasionally throw a bullseye in a tight window throw.
Levis’ pocket presence is another area that holds him back. He doesn’t seem to have a good feel for pressure and will often try to run away rather than throw the ball. He was sacked 69 times in his 21 career starts but some of those came because he held the ball too long or ran himself into trouble.
The bigger issue for Levis is that when the pressure comes, he tends to panic and try to do something instead of cutting his losses, which can lead to some catastrophic mistakes.
He had nine passes batted down or deflected off the line and fumbled 17 times in his career, losing 10.
He is at least showing some toughness in terms of being willing to stay in the pocket and get a throw off under heavy pressure.
Levis has a quick, compact release and throws a tight spiral, but he can struggle to handle the ball and needs to tighten up his mechanics.
He doesn’t seem to trust his footwork, instead relying too much on off-platform throws. Although he can do them occasionally, he can be erratic as a result.
With 23 interceptions in his two years as a full-time starter in college, and 16 of 21 starts at the pro level, Levis is clearly not afraid to take risks.
However, this can lead to him getting burned when he tries to force the throw or is inaccurate. Moreover, he can make some really reckless decisions with the ball.
In assessing his potential to become a more reliable quarterback, you have to worry about Levis’ inability to read the field at times. On this play, he threw a receiver covered on fourth down even though another receiver was alone on the same side of the field.
His general mindset in terms of refusing to take sacks or throw the ball away rather than risk a fumble, interception or injury could be problematic.
Levis was essentially a run-first quarterback when he began his college career and even had a game where he rushed for 113 yards and four touchdowns after transferring to Kentucky.
Still, he’s clearly eager to establish himself as a traditional passer before the 2023 draft, as he barely ran the ball his final season.
Levis has the ability to move in the pocket to get throws off, but ultimately lacks feel and poise in these situations.
At the pro level, he used his legs at times but only had one touchdown and had a longest catch of 21.
He shows toughness and will fight for yardage as a ball carrier. However, there should also be concerns about ball security and staying healthy as he can be reckless at times.
Levis did not play a role on special teams to any degree and was not expected in the NFL.
As mentioned, Levis ran the ball a lot when he was at Penn State, but got a chance to work in a pro style system when Liam Coen was his offensive coordinator in his first season with the Wildcats.
He became a teammate of current Jets Trevin Wallace, T’Vondre Sweat, Brant Banks, Samuel Womack, Nate Lynn and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. in his career.
Levis missed the entire 2025 season after requiring shoulder surgery. He originally suffered an injury to his AC joint in the fourth week of the 2024 season and then aggravated that injury in the following game, causing him to miss three weeks.
In his final season in college, Levis missed several games when he suffered a dislocated finger and an ankle injury that left him in a walking boot for the same game.
He also had a hamstring issue in his rookie preseason.
Former Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops praised Levis’ toughness and competitiveness, calling him a “great leader” and saying he made the players around him better.
He impressed the Kentucky staff by quickly learning their system to grab the starting job, and was voted a team captain for both of his seasons with the Wildcats.
Levis did a lot of community work in college, and his academics were excellent as he graduated from Penn State and then earned a master’s degree at Kentucky. He was a two-time all-academic Big Ten selection and a two-time member of the SEC academic honor roll.
There are no character flags other than some odd eating habits and a hacking scandal involving a viral sex tape, which doesn’t appear to be his fault.
As a college prospect, Levis was considered a good quarterback with a talented arm, but there is rawness to his game and much to learn. Unfortunately, three years later not much has changed in terms of that prognosis.
Levis has had some great highlights during his pro career thus far, and has put together some great performances. In fact, if you check out his highlight reel, you’ll probably be impressed. However, his lowlights are just as bad, and you could equally put together a reel of his worst moments that would instantly summarize why he hasn’t been a success in the NFL and has a long way to go to reach that level.
You can take the early success JJ McCarthy had with the Giants and hope Levis can enjoy similar success with a change of scenery and great weapons around him. However, while the time it took to surrender each of them was similar, McCarthy’s body of work was better, and he proved more capable of winning games, even on a stronger team.
For the Jets, Geno Smith is clearly not a long-term solution, but it may be too early to throw Cade Klubnik to the wolves. So we may see Levis get his shot at some point. Maybe he has the talent and determination to turn his career around but honestly it would be surprising if this Jets staff is what he got under.