Good or bad, there was never going to be much of a major takeaway from Cam Ward’s preseason debut, but the Tennessee Titans quarterback sure made a strong first impression.
The Titans’ lengthy preseason road trip first took them to Tampa Bay for the exhibition opener against the Buccaneers with all eyes on the No. 1 pick.
Scores and stats aren’t necessarily the biggest area of focus for any NFL team, and that can be especially true with a rookie quarterback getting his first taste of the highest level. Ward, though, checked boxes for both the eye test and the box score.
Cam Ward’s Titans Debut Doesn’t Disappoint
All in all, Ward took 14 snaps with the first-team offense for a total of two drives. After the Bucs kicked a field goal on their opening drive, the Titans went three-and-out with Ward missing on a third-down deep-ball attempt.
Head coach Brian Callahan sent him back out for the second drive, which turned out to be a good move. Ward went 5-for-6 for 67 yards, marching the Titans down the field and setting the stage for Tony Pollard to slam a 1-yard touchdown into the end zone to cap an 11-play, 65-yard scoring drive.
The biggest play came when Ward was able to hook up with veteran receiver Calvin Ridley for 27 yards. Ward got an eternity to throw the ball and eventually found Ridley sitting in the middle of the zone. Ward showed up some ridiculous arm strength in the process.
The two hooked up again later in the drive for another big gain on a play in which Ward again showcased his arm strength. The Miami product had another solid pocket before a flick of the wrist without much room to step into the pass. Ridley had a step on his defender, and Ward fit the ball in before the safety could make a play.
When in doubt, find No. 0 is probably going to be a pretty strong strategy for Ward moving forward.
One thing Titans fans should notice (and love to see) is just how much room Ward had to operate. Certainly, that comes with the caveat that Tampa Bay might not have been playing all of its starters nor sending any sort of exotic packages at the young group, but Ward was clean.
Titans Have Committed to Protecting Cam Ward With Improved Line
And even someone as inexperienced as Ward is, if there’s time to throw, he’s going to find the open man and deliver with some mustard.
It can’t be overstated how important it was for the Titans to build up that offensive line in the offseason knowing they were bringing in a rookie quarterback and using the No. 1 pick to do so. Signing someone like veteran guard Kevin Zeitler from the Lions might be one of the most underrated signings of the offseason if this keeps up, and Tennessee can only hope that Dan Moore gets right, too.
It wasn’t all great for the Titans, though, and there’s one major injury concern they’ll have to monitor moving forward. Running back Tyjae Spears was carted to the locker room with some sort of right leg injury. The early speculation is the backup back could have suffered a high ankle sprain.
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