{"id":902101,"date":"2026-09-23T04:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T04:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902101\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T04:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T04:34:15","slug":"jets-sign-will-levis-release-bailey-zappe-in-quarterback-shakeup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902101\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets sign Will Levis, release Bailey Zappe in quarterback shakeup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jets are giving Will Levis a second chance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2023 second-round pick is signing with the team\u2019s practice squad, The Post\u2019s Brian Costello confirmed Tuesday afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jets worked out the former Kentucky star earlier this month<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gang Green are also releasing fellow quarterback Bailey Zappe from the practice squad in a corresponding move.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Levis, 27, is three years removed from a promising rookie season with the Titans. He has battled injuries and lack of success in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He still believes he\u2019s a top quarterback, though.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are not 32 quarterbacks in this league better than me. I know that for sure,\u201d he said in August<\/a>. \u201cI know I\u2019ve put the tape out there already that I\u2019m a dang good quarterback in this league.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TennesseeTennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis warms up prior to a preseason NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Saturday, August 29, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo\/George Walker IV<\/p>\n

Levis started nine games for Tennessee in 2023, throwing eight touchdowns to four interceptions while tallying 1,808 yards in a solid showing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His career took a turn for the worse the following year, when the Titans went 2-10 in his 12 starts while he threw 13 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Titans benched him that year, and then replaced him with Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Levis did not appear in any games last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, further raising uncertainty about his future with the AFC South franchise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tennessee ultimately waived him in August<\/a> as part of roster cuts, ending a tenure that spanned 21 games over three seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Jets quarterback Bailey Zappe (11) is tackled by New York Giants defensive lineman Bobby Jamison-Travis (97) during the second half of a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. AP Photo\/Adam Hunger<\/p>\n

Levis tallied 3,899 passing yards and 21 touchdowns to 16 interceptions while leading Tennessee to a 5-16 record in his starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to make the most of every opportunity that I get,\u201d Levis said before being released. \u201cI can\u2019t control the reps that I get, and I\u2019m trying to take this time to obviously work on myself but [also] bring along others with me.\u201dThe reps I\u2019ve taken before [were] with mainly the ones and twos, and I have the opportunity to work with guys that are really fighting for a roster position now and trying to bring them along and make as many opportunities for them as much as I\u2019m making opportunities for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I\u2019m not worried about the competition per se or the amount of opportunities that they\u2019re going to give me. I just got to make sure that I\u2019m ready for when they are given to me and just preparing to be the best at that as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

He now will try to revitalize his career with the Jets, and he\u2019ll sit behind starter Geno Smith and fourth-round rookie backup Cade Klubnik on the team\u2019s depth chart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many expect the Jets to use one of their three first-round picks in the 2027 draft \u2014 their own selection, Indianapolis\u2019 or Dallas\u2019 \u2014 on a quarterback.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jets made a bunch of other roster maneuvers. DT David Onyemata, LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball and WR Arian Smith are all headed to IR, meaning they\u2019ll all miss the next four games. The Jets also signed WR Malik McClain, DE Jack Heflin and LB Troy Reeder to the 53-man roster and \u2014 in addition to Levis \u2014 added LB Jaden Keller, DL Isaiahh Loudermilk and TE Cody Hardy to the practice squad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Jets are giving Will Levis a second chance.\u00a0 The 2023 second-round pick is signing with the team\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,1235,593,85,1253,14532],"class_list":["post-902101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-will-levis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}