Titans’ Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders Share Moment After First Battle

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The Tennessee Titans are on top against the Cleveland Browns, which was the first game of the season that saw two rookie quarterbacks go toe-to-toe.
No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and No. 144 overall pick Shedeur Sanders were two of the top quarterbacks entering the 2025 NFL Draft class, but the former pulled ahead of the latter, who dropped all the way to the fifth round. On the same stage together in Week 14, Sanders shined, but Ward got his second career win.
The pair of quarterbacks greeted each other after the game.
Heartwarming: Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders share a warm emotional embrace after today's game.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 7, 2025
Ward and Sanders are closer than brothers.
Two of the future faces of the NFL ❤️pic.twitter.com/nQUI7yA9go
Ward, Sanders Show Out in First Career Matchup
"Cam's competitive, it's always fun, getting out there, training with him," Sanders said via ESPN reporter Turron Davenport.
"And then, we both ended up getting drafted, and we both went our separate ways. And that's really everybody that I played in college with almost, everybody's focused on what they got to do, and it's all love whenever we see each other."
Sanders brushed off the media questions pinning the two against each other, showing that he was excited to get a shot to prove himself once again.
“Well, I would say I’m just excited for the opportunity to go out there and play. And being able to, you know, last week’s showing wasn’t the best, so just having the opportunity to go out there and play," Sanders said.

Sanders was the better quarterback statistically, throwing 247 more yards than Ward, but that was also because the Titans took a 14-3 lead early, forcing the Browns to play from behind for virtually the entire game.
Ward has not had a statistical showing like Sanders today, but the comparison is apples and oranges now. The draft dictated that Ward was superior to Sanders, but only for the moment. Since then, the two have had to prove themselves in the pros.
While Sanders has been intriguing for the Browns with his flashy play, the Titans likely don't regret their decision to take Ward with the No. 1 overall pick. The Titans are confident in building around Ward and hope he can be the franchise quarterback they need in the years moving forward.
Sanders and Ward will meet again, and the former will want to have some form of revenge after the Week 14 result, while the latter will eye another shot at grabbing a win against his fellow talented draft classmate.

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener.