No. 1 pick Cam Ward’s competition for starting QB job in Tennessee ruled out for the season
The Tennessee Titans are on the verge of starting a new era in Nashville and it looks as though their rookie QB will be the starter on opening weekend.
It’s a new day and age in the NFL. No longer do quarterbacks have to get groomed for weeks, months or years before they are thrown into the fire. Cam Ward’s chances of being on the sidelines in a headset for Week 1 have almost disappeared after recent news out of Tennessee.
Ward a lock as QB1 in Week 1?
The Titans took Ward with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft in hopes that he would be quarterback of the future, but it is looking more and more like he is set to be the quarterback of right now after Will Levis was ruled out for the season on Monday morning.
On the day before training camp is supposed to start, the Titans released a statement that Levis “has decided to undergo shoulder surgery that will sideline him for the entire 2025 season.” The team went on to say that Levis “approached the offseason with professionalism and showed clear growth as a lead. We remain confident in his full recovery.”
According to Adam Schefter, the former Kentucky Wildcat sustained the injury last year, and it worsened as the season went on. Levis played in 12 games in 2024, throwing for 2,091 yards, 13 TDs and 12 INTs. The injury has now opened the door for the No. 1 overall pick to take on the starting role in Week 1.
Can Ward follow in steps or recent rookies?
That didn’t always used to be the case. Think of Aaron Rodgers with Brett Favre or even Jordan Love with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay not so long ago. Both Love and Rodgers had to wait for a year, if not more. Now a days teams seem eager to get their rookie QBs on the field as soon as possible. Sometimes that gamble pays off. Look at CJ Stroud, Bo Nix and Jalen Williams who have come into the league and played like seasoned vets over the last couple years.
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Ward put up fantastic numbers in his first and only year at the University of Miami where he threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. He was going to compete for the QB1 job over the next month in training camp and during the preseason games, but with Levis injured, he seems to be a lock to start in the season opener against Denver.
The Titans are in a revamp year after going 3-14 last year. They will have a rookie QB that they will be hoping is the face of the future and coach Brian Callahan is in his second year as head coach in Tennessee. Over the next few weeks he is going to evaluate whether Ward is ready to be tossed into the fire, or if it will Brandon Allen or Tim Boyle getting the Week 1 start at QB.