Mike Vrabel Gives Lame Reason for Pulling Malik Willis From Preseason Game

Malik Willis got his first taste of NFL action Thursday night and made the most of it. Though his team ultimately lost 23-10 to the Baltimore Ravens, the Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback looked great right up until head coach Mike Vrabel pulled him during the third quarter's first possession.

Fans hoped to hear that Vrabel had a legitimate reason for pulling his first-year gunslinger. Unfortunately, his reasoning was quite lame, saying that he pulled Willis due to the 2022 third-round pick not throwing the ball enough.

Tennessee Titans News

Vrabel told reporters after the game that he "wanted [Willis] to throw the ball. He didn't, so we put in Logan [Woodside]." Willis completed six of 11 passing attempts for 107 yards and an 88.1 passer rating.

Even though Woodside threw the ball 24 times after taking over, he failed to outplay Willis. The veteran QB completed only 14 of those attempts for 102 yards, along with two interceptions and a 33.7 passer rating. Considering that Tennessee failed to score a point with Woodside on the field, it looks like Vrabel made the wrong call.

Yes, Willis wasn't passing at a high volume, but that didn't matter. His racking up 38 yards and a rushing touchdown on five attempts kept the Titans in the game. In a run-heavy offense, you'd think that Vrabel would appreciate that sort of effort.

Nevertheless, team insider Jim Wyatt did report ahead of the game that the expectation was for Willis and Woodside to split the QB duties. Even then, great coaches adapt to changes and it would've been nice for Vrabel to see what Willis could do for a bit longer.

Time will tell if Willis sees more action in his team's next preseason game. The Titans are set to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Nissan Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. ET.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.