The Tennessee Titans ruled out quarterback Ryan Tannehill (ankle) for Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, handing the reins to rookie Will Levis to make his second pro start.
Tannehill is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain and will miss his second consecutive game.
Levis is 1-0 after firing four touchdown passes in his NFL debut last week, a 28-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Levis completed 19 of 29 passes for 238 yards and led the Titans to their highest scoring output of the season. Levis became just the third quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his NFL debut, joining Fran Tarkenton (1961) and Marcus Mariota (2015).
However, his favorite target from last week, DeAndre Hopkins, is listed as questionable to play with a toe injury. Hopkins did not practice Wednesday after being estimated as limited on Monday and Tuesday, when the team held walkthroughs.
Levis hit Hopkins with four passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Falcons, including a long of 61 yards.
According to NFL Research, Levis’ three touchdown passes of 30-plus yards were the most in an NFL debut all time — excluding strike-shortened seasons. Two of the three deep balls went to Hopkins.
The Titans also ruled out offensive tackle Chris Hubbard (concussion), cornerback Roger McCreary (hamstring) and safety Mike Brown (ankle).
–Field Level Media