Will Levis has a new job. The former Tennessee Titans quarterback is signing with the New York Jets practice squad, according to Tom Pelissero of Netflix and The Ringer. Bailey Zappe is the odd QB out in New York. 

Levis worked out for the Jets days after the Titans waived him at the end of roster cutdown day before the beginning of the regular season. Nothing came of that workout with New York. The morning after New York Giants starting QB Jaxson Dart sprains his MCL, Levis finds a new gig. Coincidence? Maybe. To make sure the Jets didn’t lose Levis to the G-Men, where former Titans coaches are on staff? Maybe. 

Now, after Week 2 of the NFL season, Levis lands on the Jets’ practice squad behind starter Geno Smith and rookie Cade Klubnik on the roster. The move changes a little bit of the story for the former second-round pick, but not that much for a quarterback who had earned a spot on the modern Mount Rushmore of NFL quarterback busts.

Will Levis and the bad NFL QB company he still is keeping

Levis is just one of four quarterbacks out of the 46 drafted in the top 40 picks from 2011 (when the rookie wage scale was created) through his draft class of 2023 who were waived or cut from their drafted team before the end of their rookie contract and went unemployed during parts of the actual NFL regular season.

The full list: Will Levis, Johnny Manziel for very different reasons, Dwayne Haskins (who was released by Washington the week before the end of the regular season and technically went unemployed for one week), and Paxton Lynch.

Until today’s news with Levis and the Jets, his closest comp was Paxton Lynch. That is not good. The Denver Broncos former first round QB went the entire 2018 season unemployed in the NFL. Levis only had to wait two regular season weeks before finding a roster spot.

What this means for Levis going forward

Landing on the Jets’ practice squad won’t rewrite the narrative around Levis overnight. 

He still flamed out in Tennessee in historically rare fashion, joining a group of quarterbacks no one wants to be associated with. The Manziel comparison carries off-field baggage that doesn’t apply. The Haskins situation was barely a blip on the unemployment timeline. Lynch is the cautionary tale of a quarterback who simply disappeared from the league.

Levis avoided that fate. He’s in the NFL, on a practice squad with the New York Jets, and two weeks of unemployment is a far cry from an entire lost season. The bust label won’t go away easily, but at least Levis has separated himself from the worst-case scenario on that list.

Now the 2023 33rd overall pick by the Titans will try to rid himself of the QB group he’s in and work his way up the order to the next level of quarterbacks who were high draft pick flame outs. 

Five other QBs with the ‘bust label’ who fit the Top 40 pick from 2011-2023 were traded at least once during their rookie contract window:

• Zach Wilson: Jets traded to Denver before Year 4
• Trey Lance: 49ers traded to Dallas before Year 3
• Justin Fields: Bears traded to Pittsburgh before Year 4
• Mac Jones: Patriots traded to Jacksonville before Year 4
• Kenny Pickett: Steelers traded to Philadelphia before Year 3

The goal is to become the Mac Jones of this group, who also had the most early success in this crop. Jones started seven games in Jacksonville and then eight last season in San Francisco as Brock Purdy was on the shelf with an injury. Jones has discussed his valuable experience gained with Purdy and head coach Kyle Shanahan, and is expected to be a wanted commodity when/if he hits free agency. 

Fields has a total of 15 starts, matching Jones. Six came with Pittsburgh in 2024 and nine with the New York Jets in 2025. In my opinion, Levis’ running ability makes him more of a fit with Fields than he is to Jones. Fields is now on his fourth NFL team with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Lance started season finales in 2024 for Dallas, and 2025 with the LA Chargers. Pickett has also only started two games since leaving the Steelers with one with the Eagles (2024) and one with Carolina (2025). 

Before Levis can become either Mac Jones or Justin Fields, he needs to avoid Zach Wilson’s ‘zero starts’ status, and reach where Lance and Pickett are currently. 

When could Will Levis see himself back into an NFL starting lineup? Now with the Jets, Levis is behind starter Geno Smith and rookie day three pick Cade Klubnik. It would take an injury to Smith (that no one is hoping for) and the Jets to not be too intrigued to see the rookie in a live situation to hand the ball to Levis. 

There’s higher than a zero-percent chance, but only those in the football building for the Jets can know what the situation would need to be to pick Levis over Klubnik.