As the Tennessee Titans ended the 2026 preseason, new head coach Robert Saleh told reporters he would stake his job on Cam Ward being a success.
“This kid’s not going to fail. Obviously, I put my job on that one, but he’s not going to fail. He’s special,” Saleh said Aug. 30.
Now seven weeks and five games later, Saleh has already been asked twice after Titans losses if he has given any thoughts to benching Ward.
It happened two weeks ago when Ward threw a game-losing interception late in the game at the New York Giants. And it was asked again Sunday after Ward and the Titans offense were completely listless after an opening-drive field goal, losing 26-3 to the previously winless Houston Texans.
Saleh has answered both queries with an emphatic no. Sunday, he was asked to clarify why.
“Cam is our starting quarterback. We’re going to give him every opportunity to be successful this year. We’re going to continue working with him, grinding with him and trying to help him get better,” Saleh said.
Those words come despite the Titans producing just 11.6 points per game – lowest in the NFL through five games, and mustering just 187 yards of total offense Sunday.
Ward was 23 of 36 for 170 yards with one interception that wasn’t really his fault as he was clobbered by Danielle Hunter as he let go of the football. The ball floated right into the hands of the Texans’ Jake Hansen.
Still, as Saleh proclaims, he is all in on Ward for this season. Or perhaps some even higher in the organization are all in on him. Ward being the first overall pick in the 2025 draft has a way of buying a certain measure of job security for a while.
General manager Mike Borgonzi certainly has maybe the biggest stake in seeing Ward succeed, given that he spurned a trade offer from the New York Giants to cast his lot with the young quarterback.
Owner Amy Adams Strunk needs Ward to find success, too, as the organization has made him the face of the franchise heading into a new stadium opening next door to where Ward and the Titans’ current struggles are unfolding. Also, she and team president Burke Nihill are running out of people to fire, but that’s another story for another day.
Answers not forthcoming
For his part, when asked about why he should be the Titans starting QB going forward despite the offense’s struggles, Ward didn’t really go too deep into an explanation.
And that’s probably understandable, given there’s not much evidence right now to present in favor of it, other than he was the No. 1 pick last year. In that span, he is 3-19 as a starting quarterback, has just one comeback win to his credit and is still looking for his first 300-yard passing game.
“I just think my process, what I’m willing to sacrifice each and every week to get to the player that I want to be, but also the player that the team needs and the organization needs to win games,” Ward says. “So I love the criticism. I love everything that comes with the quarterback territory.
“At the end of the day, it’s the best position in the world. Stuff goes the right way, you take all the credit, stuff goes the wrong way, we take all the blame,” he continues. “So I know I’m capable of this position. I have the right guys around me to uplift me, and myself, uplift them, and we’re going to eventually put it together.”
Look to the bench?
Ward’s makeup and demeanor are a big part of what sold the Titans on him as a franchise quarterback. But at some point, there must be results or changes.
That time apparently has not yet arrived. Until then, Saleh, Borgonzi and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll don’t really have a lot of choices right now other than to hope Ward improves enough to quell that conversation.
Sure, they could turn to journeyman Mitch Trubisky and maybe hope he could gather a couple of wins to stop the bleeding. But at this point, Trubisky would be a stopgap solution at best. And if developing a quarterback is the top priority, sitting Ward down would hardly be seen as confidence-building.
In San Francisco, Brock Purdy stepped up when Trey Lance didn’t work out. The Titans don’t have a Brock Purdy. In fact, it’s likely one of the reasons they didn’t hold on to Will Levis at the end of camp.
Given how poorly things have gone thus far, there might have been some arguments for giving Levis another shot had the Titans kept him.
Looking back, Levis caught flak during training camp for saying there weren’t 32 quarterbacks in the NFL better than him. Maybe he was referring to Ward.