Titans to start Josh Dobbs vs. Cowboys; What does that say about Malik Willis’s future?

First off, huge congrats to our very own Justin Melo for breaking the news that Josh Dobbs is getting the start tonight for the Tennessee Titans. Melo is so well connected and works really hard. It was really cool to see Adam Schefter give him credit for breaking the news!

The decision to start Dobbs is surprising. He’s only been with the team for a week and a half. Mike Vrabel clearly thinks that Dobbs gives the Titans a better chance to win next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t take valuable reps away from Malik Willis in this game that doesn’t matter for the Titans in the AFC South.

It is not fair for us to make a definitive judgment on Malik Willis based on what we have seen from him in his three starts. He certainly hasn’t been good, but the team around him on offense is so very bad. He only had Treylon Burks in one of his three starts, and the offensive line in front of him might be the worst this team has had since they moved to Nashville.

With that being said, Vrabel and the staff have way more information about Willis than we do. They have seen him in practice every day since training camp started in late July. They know how prepared he is at this point to be an NFL QB. To me, the decision to start Dobbs is a pretty big indictment on where Willis is at this point,

It doesn’t mean that they are giving up on him completely for the future, but keep in mind Jon Robinson drafted Willis and he isn’t here anymore. Vrabel might not have been on board with the pick from the beginning. He pulled Willis out of the first preseason game because Willis wouldn’t throw the ball. If Vrabel hasn’t seen Willis develop enough since that day, he might already be ready to say Willis isn’t his QB of the future.

Some people are saying they are starting Dobbs tonight because they don’t want Willis to take the hits behind this offensive line. I don’t buy that. It’s going to be the same line next week and the reps Willis would get tonight would be really valuable.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out and if the offense looks any different with Dobbs under center than it has with Willis.