On Saturday, the Tennessee Titans took the field for the first time in the NFL preseason on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Titans ended up losing the game in blowout fashion by a score of 29-7, but of course, wins and losses don't matter at this point in the campaign.
What Titans fans were hoping for was a strong debut from rookie quarterback and number one overall draft pick Cam Ward.
On the afternoon, Ward completed five of his eight pass attempts, good for 67 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.
After the game, Titans head coach Brian Callahan spoke on what he saw out of Ward in Tampa.
“I thought it was a good start for him. … Overall, pretty good,” said Callahan, per Ben Arthur of the NFL on FOX on X, formerly Twitter.
Callahan would also “like to keep working on timing, getting the ball out fast with the No. 1 pick,” reported Arthur.
The Titans are desperately looking for some competent quarterback play after last year's Will Levis experiment crashed and burned in spectacular fashion.
While Levis was often frantic and chaotic in the pocket last season, Ward became known for his cool and calm demeanor during his time at Miami last year, where he finished as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy Award.
Unfortunately for the Titans, coolness and calmness probably won't be enough to vault one of the NFL's worst overall rosters back into playoff contention anytime soon. Instead, this year will likely be more about developing Ward and seeing what Tennessee has from some of the other young talent on their roster.
In any case, the Titans will get the regular season underway on September 7 on the road against the Denver Broncos. Their next preseason game is set for August 15 on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
