Cam Ward Will Face Competition for QB1 Job in Rookie NFL Season, Titans GM Says

Being selected with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft may not guarantee Cam Ward a starting job in his first NFL season.

Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said Thursday on the Rich Eisen Show that his goal is to "create competition" between Ward and incumbent QB1 Will Levis this offseason.

"I think the expectation is, you take a quarterback No. 1 overall, that he's going to uplift your franchise and be that guy," Borgonzi told Eisen. "But part of our job here is to manage expectations as we go through the process here. Eventually, that's what we want it to become. But we want to take the proper steps to make sure he's ready to go out there and play, whether it be Week 1, or Week 2, or Week 3.

"If he hits the ground running here in training camp, he'll be out there Week 1."

When asked if there was a chance Levis would be starting again next season, Borgonzi answered, "I think that the competition brings out the best in everyone."

"Will's a young quarterback that's still developing, but any time you take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick, your anticipation is that he's going to one day lead the franchise, and be a franchise quarterback," Borgonzi said.

The most recent stage of Titans quarterback competition began Thursday, when Borgonzi said Ward arrived in Tennessee for this weekend's rookie minicamp.

"We're going to take it step by step, and see how he progresses," Borgonzi told Eisen. "We've done some installs with him over Zoom even before we had him here. So really, just in terms of today and this weekend, it's just getting in and out of the huddle, calling the plays, spitting the play call out... he's really going to pick up the play book first, and then start to build those relationships with people in the locker room."

Borgonzi spent 16 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs before he was hired by the Titans in January to oversee the teams' rebuild after winning three games in 2024.

The last two general managers to use a No. 1 pick on a quarterback have had differing approaches to naming their Week 1 starter.

Caleb Williams was named the Chicago Bears' starter on May 10 of last year, two weeks after he was selected at the top of the 2024 draft.

The Carolina Panthers were much more hesitant about their timeline for Bryce Young starting shortly after the quarterback was selected with the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft. But Young was still ultimately named the Week 1 starter over Andy Dalton on July 26, 2023, about a month and a half before the start of his rookie season.

Given Levis' inconsistency last year, and the fact that the Titans decided to stick with the No. 1 selection despite reported trade interest in the pick, the best outcome for Borgonzi could be Ward similarly winning the QB1 job in Tennessee this summer.