When 2025 began, there was a projected strong battle for who would be the first overall pick in the Draft-either Shedeur Sanders, who had a great year with the Colorado Buffaloes, or Cam Ward, who bet on himself, returned to the NCAA for one more season, and posted incredible numbers with the University of Miami.
After January ended, the balance began to tip in favor of Cam Ward, and he never let go of that lead. The quarterback became the first overall pick in the Draft and was acquired by the Tennessee Titans. Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders surprisingly fell out of the first round and dropped all the way to the fifth round, when the Browns took pity on him.
The story changed drastically-Cam Ward will be the Titans’ starting quarterback from Week 1 over Will Levis, while Shedeur Sanders is in a fierce battle with three other quarterbacks on the Browns-not even for the starting job, but just to stay on the Cleveland roster.
The Titans are in love with Cam Ward’s leadership
Cam Ward will try to bring the Titans back into the playoff conversation, just like they did not long ago under head coach Mike Vrabel and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The last time they made the playoffs was in 2021, with a 12-5 record, and they’ve missed out for three straight seasons since then.
Now, one of the most important offensive players for the Titans is undoubtedly Calvin Ridley, who has played with top quarterbacks throughout his career and knows what it takes to succeed in the NFL.
“He’s relaxed,” said Ridley, according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “You need that at the quarterback position, man. You can’t be someone who overthinks, someone who gets nervous. You’ve got to be OK with just, you know, doing your thing. You need that ‘f*** it’ mentality. And he kinda has it.”
That’s truly good news-someone like Ridley speaking that way about Cam Ward. In recent years, the Titans have lacked a solid quarterback, and now, with the rookie from the University of Miami, hope seems to have returned to Tennessee’s training camp.
“Honestly, I want to hear what he thinks because I want to be where he wants me to be,” said Ridley. “So first I ask him, ‘What did I do wrong on the play?’ Doesn’t matter if it was the pass, the catch, or whatever-what do I need to do to make you feel better? Then I try to get inside his mind about what I need to do to make you feel better. Basically, that’s what we’re doing. Like I said, for me it’s easy to connect with him. It’s fun, easy to talk football with him. I really like the guy, man.”
Last season, Ridley had 64 receptions for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns. Now, he’ll be the primary receiving weapon for rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
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