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Perhaps Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan doesn’t count Cam Ward’s practice fiestiness in his assessment thus far. But the evaluations are ongoing. And Callahan is trying to use his Joe Burrow experience to develop Ward.
Callahan was the Bengals' offensive coordinator during Joe Burrow’s rookie season in 2020. And he’s trying to channel some of that into making Ward a better player, according to ESPN.
“Certain things you have to do as an NFL quarterback,” Callahan said. “It's very different from college. You have to figure out where the blind spots are. Where are those spots, and how do you help introduce what that looks like?”
Titans HC Brian Callahan trying to lead Cam Ward
One thing Callahan doesn’t have to worry much about is Ward’s determination to get better. Callahan said Ward is in the building every day between 4:30 and 5 a.m., and brings teammates with him.
That kind of drive is what lured Tyler Lockett to Tennessee.
“I wanted to play with Cam,” Lockett said. “It's the second play. There's the first play, which is everyone running their routes and the quarterback going through his progressions. And the second play is to be able to run and get open and having an awareness of where everybody is.”
Callahan can also learn from the struggles of Bryce Young in 2023 and Caleb Williams last year. Both of those situations led to the head coaching losing his job. And with Callahan coming off a 3-14 campaign, he won’t have a long leash with Ward if the losses begin to pile up.
And the numbers are against him, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“Per ESPN Research, teams that start rookie QBs are a combined 431-655-2 (.397) in the NFL's 32-team era (since 2002),” Fowler wrote. “Though No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels and the Commanders showed this past season that immediate turnarounds can happen. The list of No. 1 selections with winning records (minimum three starts) as rookie QBs in the common draft era is one name long: Andrew Luck (2012).”
However, Callahan said he’s taking things like that in stride.
“I think the old adage is that pressure is a bit of privilege,” Callahan said. “You get a chance to work with a great player when you pick him at the top of the draft. If it so happens to be a quarterback, that doesn't change anything for me.”
