Titans' Cam Ward Doing Extra to Earn Veteran WR’s Respect

When the Tennessee Titans made Cam Ward the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, it came with a lot of pressure. He's the man Brian Callahan and the rest of the coaching staff have entrusted to lead them into a new era. If Ward flops, it could spell the end of Callahan's head coaching days, so there's a lot of pressure on Ward to succeed.

Luckily, it seems Ward is up to the task. He's turned a lot of heads at practice thus far, and he finished the preseason with a 3-for-4 performance against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday night.

He's done a lot of things well in the lead-up to the season, and the players have taken notice, too. They've all been impressed with Ward since he arrived in Nashville, and veteran WR Tyler Lockett is the latest to give his rookie quarterback his flowers.

“Every single day he’s out there and he’s trying to get better,” Lockett told Jim Rome. “I know it kind of sounds cliché, but he’s really out there. He lives and breathes football. I’m not saying that’s not something everybody else does, but this is literally his hobby, his career, this is what he does at home. He thinks, sleeps, and breathes football.”

Being an NFL quarterback is not all about what you do on the field. A lot of it comes off the field as well. Bonding with your teammates - more specifically your offensive line, wide receivers and running backs - is a job in and of itself, but Lockett thinks he's done a great job of building those connections.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) runs the ball during the second quarter of an NFL pre-season game against the Minnesota Vikings at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I think he does a great job already of hanging out with everybody. Inviting the O-Line to go eat, doing things with the receivers and running backs," Lockett explained. "You can tell the chemistry is there off the field.”

His connection with Calvin Ridley was on full display in the Titans' first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In that game, he found Ridley three times for 50 yards on the same drive to help put them in scoring position before Tony Pollard punched in the Titans' only score of the night.

Ward has impressed his teammates and coaching staff this offseason. Now, he needs to keep his foot on the gas as he prepares for his regular season debut on September 7.

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