Why did Will Levis change his phone number? Titans star asks for privacy after fans berate him over text

Bryan Murphy

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Why did Will Levis change his phone number? Titans star asks for privacy after fans berate him over text image

The start of the 2024 season is not the one Titans quarterback Will Levis drew up. 

First, Levis and Tennessee blew a 17-0 lead to Chicago in Week 1, losing on a fourth quarter pick-six thrown by Levis that gave the Bears a 24-17 win. 

In Week 2, the Titans lost to the Jets by the same score, and Levis once again had an awful turnover, fumbling the ball at the New York 6-yard line early in the game, prohibiting the team from extending its early lead. 

Now, Levis has been forced to change his phone number after receiving a barrage of texts from fans, harassing the quarterback after the poor beginning to this year's NFL campaign. 

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Here is more on why Levis had to change his phone number. 

Why did Will Levis change his phone number? 

Levis is doing his best to block out the haters that are ripping him for his first two weeks. However, that's hard to do when those cynics somehow got his phone number, allowing them to have direct contact to their target, 

The Titans QB revealed Wednesday that was changing his phone number after it somehow got leaked to the public, resulting in an onslaught of not-so-encouraging messages.

"I guess the thing I’m actually doing today is getting a new phone number," Levis said. "I don’t know how my number got out there to the fans, but I got a lot of texts.

"So, yeah. It sucks the world is the way that it is and I’m looking forward to having some privacy."

Levis is normally a fairly private person anyway. He said he hasn't been on social media in months, avoiding anything said by users online, either positive or negative.

What he's most concerned about is the opinions of those around him, including the Tennessee coaching staff and his teammates.

"I think one of the important things we talked about today as a team and as a group is just having confidence regardless of the seeming disparity of the situation or moment," Levis said. "We’ve got to come out here whether we’re 2-0 or 0-2, 15-0 or 0-15, with the same attitude, same confidence knowing that we’re going to go out there and beat the breaks off of whoever we play.

"To have that confidence as a team, and we’re building toward that, it’s great seeing guys come out here on a Wednesday after a tough loss like that with the intensity and focus that we did."

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Will Levis turnovers

So far through two games, Levis is 0-2 while completing 63.3% of his passes for 319 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions and two fumbles. His five turnovers lead the league through the first two weeks. 

The turnovers aren't just bad — they've been horrific. The pick-six against the Bears was completely avoidable, as Levis tossed the ball away to avoid a sack. Instead, it went right into the hands of Chicago cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who took it to the house and put the Bears ahead. 

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After his first entry for dumbest play of the year, Levis submitted another one the very next week. On a third-and-goal play at the 6-yard line, the Titans quarterback attempted to scramble when the pocket collapsed. He was tripped up, and instead of taking the sack, he tried to flip the ball backwards to running back Tyjae Spears. The Jets recovered it and kept the Titans off the board. 

Titans head coach Brian Callahan did not mince words on or off the field about the decisions by his young quarterback. 

"I was upset. It was dumb," Callahan said after the loss to the Jets. "It was the same exact thing he did last week, and he cost us points in the red zone. He’s a grown-up and he knows better, and I was really irritated that he cost us three points in a game that we probably needed it." 

Levis and Co. have a chance to get their first win in Week 3 when the team hosts the Packers on Sunday afternoon. 

Bryan Murphy

Bryan Murphy Photo

Bryan Murphy joined The Sporting News in 2022 as the NHL/Canada content producer. Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games. A graduate of Quinnipiac University, he spent time in college as a beat reporter covering the men’s ice hockey team.