Cam Ward, Titans' Starters to Play In Every Preseason Game Amid Offense's Struggles

The Tennessee Titans have reportedly endured some growing pains on offense this offseason as 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward takes the reins as the starting quarterback, and they will have some work to do in the coming weeks.

Per team reporter Jim Wyatt, Titans head coach Brian Callahan announced on Wednesday that Ward and the rest of the team's starters will play in every preseason game this summer to help prepare for the 2025 campaign. In Saturday's preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the starters reportedly will play "a series, maybe two."

Nick Suss of the Nashville Tennessean reported earlier this week that Callahan ended Sunday's practice session with "a pointed rant" toward his players amid the team's continued struggles. The second-year head coach reportedly "was clearly frustrated by an offense that struggled to move the ball in team periods, piled up a few penalties and generally dealt with the wear-and-tear of handling a fourth fully padded practice in five days."

Tennessee is hoping to bounce back from a massively disappointing 3-14 finish in Callahan's first year at the helm, so the players admitted that his rant was warranted as they try to improve.

"I wouldn’t say it was as dominant as he probably described it," running back Tony Pollard said. "But it was a day that the offense, we had a lot of self-inflicted errors today. False starts, things that we can control. That’s definitely something we need to approach a little harder this year because that was a big problem last year."

Ward, who was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the quarterback class entering the 2025 draft, has shown signs of massive upside during training camp. However, he's still experiencing the adjustments that are typical for a rookie starting quarterback. Suss noted that the 23-year-old's "first week of padded practices has been a clinic in finding the small positives in a pile of misses."

The Titans are likely staring at another rebuild year as their young players continue to develop, so every chance to gain experience during the preseason will be crucial for their hopes to be competitive in 2025.