.jpg)
6 hours ago
1
The moment the Tennessee Titans decided that Miami quarterback Cam Ward would be the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, he became the unofficial starting quarterback. Tennessee all but confirmed that he would be under center for Week 1's festivities against the Denver Broncos by adding only Tim Boyle and system-friendly backup Brandon Allen to the depth chart in the weeks leading up to the draft.
Incumbent starter Will Levis entered camp as the team's second quarterback, offering the Titans a reasonable fallback should Ward struggle in camp or early in the season. However, on Monday, the team announced that Levis would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
This is Cam Ward's team
There was never much doubt about Ward's standing on this depth chart. No competition was brewing in Nashville. But Levis' injury update put the spotlight on Tennessee for the first time since April and begs the question of whether the football world has paid enough attention to the Titans.
Ward made the most complete case in the class to be the No. 1 pick. He was a Heisman candidate with several years of college production, offered promising arm talent and athleticism, and handled the pre-draft process now. In the months after the NFL Draft, though, he's garnered less attention than other top-pick passers.
Caleb Williams was set to take over Chicago before his up-and-down rookie season. Joe Burrow rode a historic senior season to Cincinnati, joining 2018's first pick, Baker Mayfield in the AFC North. Jacksonville Jaguars fans celebrated clinching the No. 1 pick like a Super Bowl. However those various stories end, each of them entered their rookie campaigns with far more league-wide hype than Ward.
MORE: How Will Levis' season-ending injury impacts Cam Ward
Perhaps that's a referendum on the quarterback class each passer came from. The 2025 class, by nearly all accounts, was ugly under center. Some had Ward as the only Round 1 quarterback, taken first more for positional value than talent alone. Yours truly gave him a Round 2 grade.
Even so, Tennessee shouldn't be written off. Expectations are reasonably low. Few teams deserve more pessimism than the literal worst team in the league a season ago, and most sportsbooks have the Titans at 5.5 wins, the least in the AFC.
It would take a right-tailed outcome for them to outperform projections and make the playoffs or win the division. But high-level rookie quarterbacks have thrust teams into contention before, like Jayden Daniels last season and C.J. Stroud before him.
The Titans have some real bright spots, too. The offensive line should be above average, headlined by first-round talents in Pete Skoronski and JC Latham. Better quarterback play should have residual benefits for the running game, and Calvin Ridley is still capable of posting 1,000 yards. On defense, a strong defensive line should mitigate the stampedes that other bad teams deal with.
It's unlikely, sure. But nobody expected Stroud to make the Houston Texans America's favorite story by the middle of his rookie season. Ward, with a better offensive line, an offense-minded head coach, and a less-than-dreadful supporting cast, isn't set up to fail.
Ward is the obviously the most important player for Tennessee's long-term hopes. And if he can exceed expectations in Year 1, he can quickly find himself as one of the most important pieces of the entire 2025 season, too. It's worth embracing that potential, even if it strays from the Titans' likeliest fate.
MORE NFL NEWS
English (US)