Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward seemed to lock eyes for a moment with receiver Carnell Tate, who was streaking across the field ahead of his defender in the team's 2026 NFL season opener.
But instead of driving a pass into Tate’s hands, Ward scrambled to his right as the pocket began to collapse, away from the open receiver.
It was one of many opportunities the Titans (0-1) missed in their sobering 23-10 Week 1 home loss to the New York Jets on Sept. 13.
“(Ward) is much improved with regards to his pocket presence. He did have a couple where you wished he would’ve stayed in there and delivered a strike,” Titans coach Robert Saleh said on Sept. 14. “But he also had some where, especially on that first drive, where he was stepping up and through,
and extending drives with his feet and doing a really nice job.”
Saleh walked a thin line when talking about his quarterback the morning after the Titans (0-1) and their new coach fell flat in their first regular-season game together. He acknowledged Ward has work to do before taking the next step in his career, while also protecting the Titans’ second-year quarterback as best he could.
Saleh doesn't have much choice. It's a long season and the Titans will be worse off if Ward's confidence hits bottom.
"There's 16 cities that are overreacting on everything (right now)," Saleh said ahead of the Titans' Sept. 20 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles (noon, FOX). Philadelphia's coming off a 24-22 win over Washington.
Ward completed 19 of 32 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown against the Jets (1-0). The offense failed to gain 200 yards. After watching Ward's game film, Saleh fairly placed some of the blame elsewhere. He said the coaching schemes weren’t good enough and receivers didn’t get open as a result.
The Titans also couldn’t block the Jets regardless of whether they wanted to run or throw.
“From a protection standpoint, it needs to be better,” Saleh said. “It has to be better than it was yesterday.”
The Jets loss wasn’t just a gut punch for Saleh, who coached there from 2021-24.
Ward knew how bad this team needed any win. He has yet to have a 300-yard passing game in the regular season. He has only twice completed 70% or more of his passes. Achieving any of those feats would’ve provided some level of spark to the organization.
“We’ve been working since OTAs with regards to pocket presence, delivering strikes, working on his accuracy, working on all the different things he has to do,” Saleh said. “His pre-snap communication. Getting guys taken care of their protections. Getting guys in the right play. And we have to just continue on that process.”
Saleh was asked point blank if he thinks Ward is a bigger project than initially believed.
“His growth will happen throughout the year. His growth will happen next year and the year after,” Saleh said. “This young man is at the floor of what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, but he has all the tools, the mental makeup to get to where he needs to go.”
Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also contributes to The Tennessean's high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How big of a project is Cam Ward? Titans coach Robert Saleh gives his review
