The Tennessee Titans are the first to point out that rookie quarterback Cam Ward has room for improvement, even as the No. 1 overall pick of April’s draft provided plenty of optimism for the future when he made his NFL preseason debut Saturday night.
Ward didn’t connect on his first two passes, but he completed five of his next six for 67 yards and drove the Titans 65 yards in 11 plays, using up 6 minutes, 38 seconds of game clock during a 29-7 loss to the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It was a good start for him,” Titans second-year head coach Brian Callahan said Sunday. “Encouraging, was productive. But yeah, there’s a couple of things that we’re going to keep kind of grinding on I think. Still working on getting the ball out fast, still working on the timing part of it … But overall pretty good.”
Ward showed the chemistry he has been building with wide receiver Calvin Ridley, connecting with the veteran three times for 50 yards.
The brightest spot for the Titans was the pocket that their revamped offensive line provided for the rookie. Tennessee gave up 52 sacks in 2024, when only four teams in the league allowed more.