NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have done everything possible so that rookie quarterback Cam Ward is as ready as possible to start the season opener against the Denver Broncos.
Time's up Sunday.
“All that’s left to do is to go do it and prove it, and I’m looking forward to that,” coach Brian Callahan said of the No. 1 overall draft pick.
The Titans threw as much as possible at Ward during the offseason and training camp to prepare him. That included defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson showing Ward as many different looks during practice as possible.
Callahan took them to a pair of joint practices against Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
“He’s handled it well ... he’s a baller,” linebacker Cody Barton said of the rookie.
Ward also talks frequently with teammates to make sure each knows what the other is doing on the field. Ward has even used virtual reality to help him get a feel for NFL defenses. He spends time after practices to build his chemistry with receivers.
Calvin Ridley, whose locker is next to the rookie's, said Ward is ready to play.
“He’s a dog. He’s excited," Ridley said.
Ward is used to adapting to new teams quickly. He started at Incarnate Word, spent two seasons at Washington State and wound up fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting for his lone season at Miami. He set a NCAA Division I record throwing 158 touchdowns in his career, including 39 at Miami.
He also faces tall odds of leaving Denver with a win in his NFL debut.
Quarterbacks taken at No. 1 overall are 4-14-1 in the common draft era starting a season opener. When Caleb Williams got the win with Chicago last year, it was the first season-opening win for a No. 1 pick quarterback since David Carr in 2002.
Since 2000, the past 16 quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall are 1-14-1 in that span. Ward will be trying to join Williams and avoid being added to a list including Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow. Kyler Murray managed the tie in 2019.
The previous rookie quarterback to start a season opener for Tennessee was Marcus Mariota in 2015, and the No. 2 draft pick beat Tampa Bay and No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston. Ward will become the 13th rookie to start for this franchise and the first since Will Levis in 2023.
“We don’t need him to do anything superhuman," Callahan said Wednesday. "We just need him to play good football.”
To help Ward adapt as quickly as possible is why the Titans studied Washington’s offense with Jayden Daniels, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and what Chicago did with Williams last season as well. Callahan was offensive coordinator with Burrow in his rookie season in 2020.
Offensive coordinator Nick Holz is happy with where Ward is at going into the opener. The biggest challenge for a quarterback going from college to the NFL is preparing for the opposing defenses, and Ward has done his part peppering coaches with texts asking questions.
“It’s refreshing as a coach to have a guy that really does want to be a great player, but he also understands that it’s a process,” Holz said.
For his part, Ward already is speaking up about wanting Callahan to stick around past his second season. He went through enough change in college, and Ward, who wants to be great and not just good, knows having the same coaches around him will help him thrive.
"The best thing about a lot of teams in the league, the good teams in the league, they have stability just throughout the program,” Ward said.
Roster moves
The Titans signed seven-year NFL veteran linebacker Kyzir White to the practice squad and released nose tackle Isaiah Raikes. White was a fourth-round pick by the Chargers in 2018, played with Philadelphia in 2022 and spent the past two seasons with Arizona. He has started 73 of 92 games played.
___
AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press
