TAMPA, Fla. – The Cam Ward Encouragement Index registered well in his first preseason game, when he showed up six and a half hours before kickoff and engineered a solid touchdown drive in his second series before sitting down.
Ward threw passes of 27, 10 and 13 yards to his top target Calvin Ridley to get things going and also hit Chig Okonkwo for 10 yards to convert a third-and-9 and Tyler Lockett for 7 yards to convert a third-and-6.
The Titans lost 29-7 at Raymond James Stadium, on a night when the Bucs played one replacement starter and Tennessee’s defense allowed the hosts to stay on the field too much, almost 35 minutes.
Ward finished five of eight for 67 yards and an 89.1 passer rating. He was unbothered in those eight drop-backs.
The Titans had three starters in Dan Moore, Peter Skoronski and JC Latham as well as Corey Levin who may start the season for Lloyd Cushenberry, who’s completing rehabilitation from a torn Achilles. Veteran Kevin Zeitler didn’t play with Andrew Rupcich in his place at right guard.
The Bucs' pass rush was not coming from Calijah Kancey, Vita Vea, Logan Hall or Yaya Diaby, who combined for 24.5 sacks a year ago, but Adam Gotsis, Greg Gaines, C.J. Brewer and Anthony Nelson, a four-pack who combined for seven sacks in 2024.
Cam to Calvin for 27 yards and the first down!
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) August 10, 2025
📺: #TENvsTB on @WKRN & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/z1ilZ6zct2
Those were the four rushers who the Titans held off when Ward was clean and fully stepped into his first throw of the second possession, the 27-yarder to Ridley. The receiver was facing Ward, open by 6 yards, standing on the right between the midfield logo and the numbers.
Everything worked correctly and he made the play you’d expect of him, and it was a great one to get the confidence up and set things in motion.
“That’s exactly what you hope for,” Brian Callahan said of all that went right on the longest play of the game. “The pass protection for most of the game was pretty good. Kalel Mullings gave up one (sack) on a one-on-one pickup in the second half, but for the most part the offensive line part of it was solid. That was good to see. And that play went about as good as you can ask for unless you would have scored, it might have gone a little better.”
Latham called it something for the unit to build on and found some issues with his own performance – he said on the first play he got turned a little bit coming out of an aggressive set and he was late with his hands on a play on the second drive.
As for the level of the competition…
“Chris Braswell was a second-round pick out of Alabama last year,” JC Latham said. “So twos? Yes. Good player? Definitely. You look at it as far as the talent goes and what you see, he’ll be playing this year, a good role for that team so it’s not like he’s some random guy off the bench or that any of them are. He’ll play more of a prevalent role off the bench.”
Ward said he really liked the chance to vibe with his teammates and get some rhythm and said the offensive line “had the mindset to go get it.”
“They were the reason why we finished off that drive with points,” he said.
After a run on his first play, he threw incomplete to Van Jefferson and then threw the ball away on a third-and-5 after rolling right when it appeared Jefferson had cut across the field with him giving him a viable option.
“The timing wasn’t there from the standpoint of what it’s always been, but in a game that’s when you’ve got to be reactive,” he said. “I got out of the pocket too early; I could have painted the ball to Rid and (Tyler) Lockett once I looked at the film. But that's just stuff I have to get better at, just being able to play post-snap.”
Ward showed up to the stadium at 1:00 p.m. but had no trouble passing the time to get to the 7:30 kickoff. He viewed part of the new John Cena movie, “Freelance.” Ward didn’t finish it, so his review is pending.
Cam Ward’s on showing up 6.5 hours early. #Titans pic.twitter.com/iCpqrEWXQX
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) August 10, 2025
He expects to arrive four hours before the Titans’ noon games.
The Titans headed for buses after the game that would take them to the airport for a flight to Atlanta, where they will continue their road trip. They’ll be off Sunday, have a light day Monday and practice against the Falcons Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of Friday night’s game against the Falcons.
Callahan said starters will play in that one, too. Odds are it won’t be more than this.
The defensive game performance by the twos and threes didn’t get it done, with an interception by Brandon Allen and two by Tim Boyle, one returned for a touchdown, helping make things more difficult.
As for Ward, he had a solid practice and a good drive and is in a good spot to build from.
“The second drive I think he took advantage of every opportunity, made some great throws to Rid, got us driving the ball down, I mean that’s very promising,” Lockett said. “That’s what you want to see.”