How No. 1 choose Cam Ward ready for NFL debut with Titans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The crisp 88-degree Labor Day weather presented perfect conditions for the Tennessee Titans’ first regular-season game week practice Monday. During the season, teams typically don’t practice on Mondays, but Titans coach Brian Callahan wanted the players back on the field because they were returning from a weekend break.

Veteran receiver Calvin Ridley and rookie quarterback Cam Ward remained on the field for an extra 40 minutes to prepare. The Ward-Ridley relationship is one of many that will need to click for the rookie to join Chicago Bears signal-caller Caleb Williams (2024) as the only two quarterbacks selected No. 1 to win their NFL debuts since David Carr did so with the Houston Texans in 2002.

Callahan and the Titans staff have been working hard to make sure Ward is ready when he takes the field Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox) against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High — a process that started before Ward arrived in Nashville.

Before drafting Ward, the Titans had discussions with Miami’s offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and North Texas coach Eric Morris, who recruited Ward out of high school when he was the coach at Incarnate Word, about Ward’s strengths when he played for them in college.

It helped build a comfort level for Ward and Callahan — who was urged by his rookie quarterback to incorporate his favorite play, “Switch Verts,” into the Titans’ playbook.

In studio at NFL Live talking Cameron Ward and the #Titans. pic.twitter.com/HY2ED2lpuX

— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) July 14, 2025

Ward is an aggressive passer who likes to throw the ball downfield to display his arm talent. “Switch verts” fits his skill set because it involves multiple receivers running vertical routes into the end zone. The switch requires the receivers to criss-cross at the start of the route to confuse defenders in man coverage.

“It’s been like that since Day 1,” Ward said when asked about the process. “They’ve always taken my input, giving me feedback. I always take their input, get feedback from them. I’ve seen everything since I got here after the draft. I got better at it every day. Learning protection, learning the calls to get to and also just adjusted my receivers on routes that I want them to run.”

Ward’s potential and Callahan’s creativity must come together quickly to ensure a long-lasting relationship. The Titans have parted ways with a prominent figure for three consecutive seasons — Tennessee fired general manager Jon Robinson in 2022, followed by coach Mike Vrabel in 2023 and then general manager Ran Carthon in 2024.

Unfortunately for Callahan, Williams guided the Bears’ 2024 season-opening win against the Titans, ruining his coaching debut in a turbulent season. After finishing 3-14 last season, Callahan needs Ward and the Titans to be successful to avoid being the fourth straight dismissal.

Week 1 could be a stiff test for Callahan and Ward against Denver, which allowed 18.3 points per game last season — the third fewest behind the Los Angeles Chargers (17.7) and the Philadelphia Eagles (17.8). Visiting offenses averaged only 14.9 points against Denver.

“When you’ve got a young quarterback, there’s going to be plenty of things that he’s going to see that maybe he hasn’t seen,” Callahan said. “He’s got to manage those things. At the end of the day, you try to put him in a position to play as fast as possible and as confidently as possible on the road.”

---

THE TITANS HIT the ground running when Ward arrived in Nashville soon after the draft. Ward instantly appreciated Callahan’s “quarterback-friendly offense” and prior experience getting a rookie ready for game day.

“You see what he did with Joe Burrow, his rookie year,” Ward said in April. “[Callahan] has one of the best offensive minds out there.”

As for the Burrow reference, that’s something you’ll hear constantly.

Burrow, with Callahan as his offensive coordinator and coach Zac Taylor calling the plays, turned the Cincinnati Bengals into a Super Bowl contender. Similar to Burrow, Ward is shouldering the burden of restoring respect to the franchise, with Callahan playing a major role in the onboarding process.

“I want to be a reason why Brian Callahan is viewed as one of the best coaches in the NFL.”

Cam Ward

Having experienced it before, Callahan is confident that he has the formula to get Ward up to speed against a Broncos defense that led the NFL with 63 sacks last season and has the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in cornerback Patrick Surtain II.

“I think we had a pretty good plan for Joe there in Cincinnati,” Callahan said Monday. “You want to do things that they’re comfortable with, and you want to play fast. You try not to reinvent the wheel, getting ready for Week 1, or any game for that matter. But you try to do all the things, you bank reps on in practices, in meetings, so there’s not a lot of newness.”

Titans backup quarterback Brandon Allen was also with Cincinnati for Burrow’s rookie season. Allen saw how the Bengals integrated some of Burrow’s favorite passing concepts from LSU. But he also saw how they learned what Burrow liked from their existing playbook.

“He wants to tailor his playcalling to the success and what the quarterback is most comfortable doing,” Allen said of Callahan. “He does a good job calling a wide variety of plays throughout OTAs and camps, and saying like, ‘Hey, he’s really good at these plays. He sees these certain plays. Well, he needs a little bit more work on these plays.’ He does a great job with that.”

---

TENNESSEE’S COACHES ENCOURAGED Ward to communicate with them about what plays and concepts he likes. Although they worked mostly on base plays, the coaches allowed Ward to help build the call sheet they’d have up for game week during the preseason.

Ward said he looked forward to the start of regular-season preparation because he likes to get dialed into everything from scheming protection to route adjustments and post-snap priorities.

Broncos coach Sean Payton had to get second-year quarterback Bo Nix ready for his NFL debut last year, so he’s well aware of how to prepare for a rookie quarterback. Denver’s coaches will do an in-depth study of Ward’s college tape. They’ll want to see how Ward handles pressure, so expect blitzes and coverages that shift post-snap.

“You would go back and look at his college tape at Miami just to get a feel for not only arm strength, but how he handles pressure,” Payton said Tuesday.

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph blitzed on 31% of dropbacks by opposing quarterbacks last season — the 10th-highest rate in the NFL. Denver played one game against a starting rookie quarterback last season (Spencer Rattler). Rattler was blitzed on 29% of his dropbacks, as the Broncos dominated the New Orleans Saints 33-10.

Callahan expects the Broncos to pressure Ward. But that doesn’t mean he won’t let Ward fight back.

“The old adage for most quarterbacks is defenses will test you and pressure you,” Callahan said. “But you just don’t ever want to take away the stinger, and Cam’s got one. He’s going to take some chances and take some risks and put the ball in some tight windows, and that’s part of what makes him who he is.”

Among 129 QBR-qualified FBS passers last season, Ward’s 88.5 QBR ranked 12th. Ward completed 88 of 132 passes (third) against the blitz and finished second in passing yards (1,183), passing touchdowns (16) and rushing touchdowns (2) while facing pressure.

“Know your protection, get the ball out, don’t let them kill you,” Ward said. “That’s all you can do to handle pressure. No matter what is called, the blitz still got to get there.”

---

TITANS GENERAL MANAGER Mike Borgonzi believes Callahan and the Titans staff have done a good job preparing Ward to handle pressure in practices. Callahan, offensive coordinator Nick Holz and quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree meticulously work through mistakes whenever they occur. They’ve made a concerted effort to get Ward real-time reps against pressure.

Callahan scheduled joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons and a preseason game with the Minnesota Vikings to get him reps against aggressive defenses. He also pressed defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to throw numerous defensive looks at Ward almost every day of camp. Ward had his ups and downs, but the benefit is banking reps and being exposed to a variety of pressure packages.

“The toughest thing for these rookie quarterbacks is handling protections and seeing all that,” Borgonzi said. “It was good seeing him going up against Dennard’s defense during training camp, having the opportunity to go on the road for 10 days and go against [Todd Bowles’] defense in Tampa and [Raheem Morris’] defense in Atlanta.”

Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry III’s veteran presence should help Ward prepare for the pressure as well. Cushenberry said the communication has been great. He and Ward have detailed discussions regarding protection. Cushenberry likened his growing relationship with Ward to one between a quarterback and receiver.

“It’s the same thing,” Cushenberry said. “They’re in tune with all the coverages, just like we are up front with the protections. We always want to be on the same page.”

The offense will have its weekly third-down meeting Thursday morning to go through its calls and adjustments before afternoon practice. Players build confidence from preparation and reps. Ward is no different.

“I feel prepared, especially from a protection against the blitz standpoint,” Ward said.

Ward and the Titans are taking a day-by-day approach to embarking on what they hope will be a successful debut Sunday. If it’s up to Ward, Sunday will mark the start of a long journey for him and the current staff.

“I’m trying to play as long as I can for Tennessee with those three guys at the helm,” Ward said of Callahan, Hardegree and Holz. “They push me to be great. I want to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. I want to be a reason why Brian Callahan is viewed as one of the best coaches in the NFL.”