The Green Bay Packers saw another domino fall in their pursuit of a viable backup quarterback behind Jordan Love on Thursday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Kirk Cousins signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, per his agent Mike McCartney.
However, before Cousins signed on the dotted line with the Raiders, the Packers were among several who expressed interest in his services, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic. Now Green Bay has to figure out another way to bring in more competition for the QB2 spot.
As things currently stand, the Packers’ backup QB candidates are veteran Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord. Neither guy is on the same level as Malik Willis, who signed a three-year contract with the Miami Dolphins. This could lead the Packers to take a quarterback in Day 3 of the NFL Draft later this month, or go the trade route.
If they take the trade route, the Tennessee Titans could be an intriguing trade partner for Green Bay, as their QB room is quite crowded, possibly leaving Will Levis as the odd man out.
Will Levis Sticks Out as Potential Trade Candidate for Packers
The 26-year-old Levis, who started in 21 games over his first two years in the NFL (2023 and 2024), entered free agency last month as the Titans’ QB2 behind Cam Ward. Levis missed the entire 2025 season due to right shoulder surgery. The young QB sustained an AC joint injury early in the 2024 season.
However, the Titans shockingly added Mitchell Trubisky into the mix, signing him to a two-year, $10.5 million deal. Trubisky has starting experience like Levis, but has spent the last five years as a backup in Pittsburgh and Buffalo. He’s also familiar with Brian Daboll, who was the OC in his first stint with the Bills in 2021.
Based on those known facts, it seems like Trubisky is a shoo-in to be the backup behind Ward. According to Jim Wyatt of Titans.com, Titans head coach Robert Saleh is leaving the door open, saying that “it’s too early to close the door” on Levis.
While that sounds nice, the Titans didn’t sign Trubisky to that deal to be a QB3. Therefore, this likely means Levis will battle it out with Hendon Hooker for the QB3 spot, who was just signed on Wednesday.
And if that’s the case, the Packers should put in a call to see what the going rate would be to acquire Levis, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. When Green Bay acquired Willis from Tennessee, it cost them a 2025 seventh-round pick, and Willis had 11 games (three starts) under his belt. Willis also wasn’t in the last year of his contract.
Therefore, the Packers should see if a fifth or sixth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft would be enough to pry Levis out of Tennessee. Even though he’s a 61% career passer, one could argue that he has more upside than Ridder and McCord. Levis was lauded for his size and arm talent, as he can make off-platform throws.
McCord couldn’t win the QB3 job with the Philadelphia Eagles, who traded for Sam Howell at the end of the preseason. Meanwhile, Ridder has bounced around the league after being taken in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Coincidentally, Ridder and Levis are the same age (26), despite the former being a year prior.
If the Packers’ coaching staff could get Willis back on track and playing with confidence, who's to say that they couldn’t tighten up Levis’ mechanics and reboost his value? At this rate, it does not hurt to try, as Green Bay doesn’t have many options left.