Tennessee Titans 2022 third-round pick and quarterback Malik Willis is fighting to not only win the backup quarterback job in training camp, but to stay in Nashville, also.
After two lackluster seasons to start his career, Willis is very much on the bubble as training camp begins. By all accounts, he failed to outperform Mason Rudolph during the offseason program, leaving him behind in the competition for the backup job.
If he fails to beat out Rudolph, that could spell the end to Willis' tenure in Nashville, unless the Titans decide to carry three quarterbacks. But the Liberty product would have to show he's worth using a roster spot on in that scenario.
Over the first two days of training camp, Willis has nearly gone shot-for-shot with Rudolph, as the former is 12-for-15 on his passes while Rudolph is 13-for-14, according to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com.
"Quarterback Mason Rudolph was 3-of-4 in 7-on-7 work and 4-of-4 in his team reps, which made him 7-of-8 on the day," Wyatt wrote. "Rudolph is 13-of-14 in the 7-on-7 and team work combined during the first two days of camp."
"Willis was 3-of-4 in 7-on-7 drills and 4-of-5 in team work on Thursday, making him 7-of-9 for the day," Wyatt added. "Willis is now 12-of-15 in 7-on-7 and team work combined in camp. It was Willis who threw the strike to Odukoya."
The pass Willis threw to Odukoya was "a bullet thrown by quarterback Malik Willis in the middle of the field, and (Odukoya) raced toward the goal line," per Wyatt.
Now, nobody is going to declare Willis safe after two training camp practices, but he is off to the kind of start he needed. Whether or not he can surpass Rudolph or do enough to earn a roster spot behind him remains to be seen.
