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Report expands on how Cam Ward was 'everything the Titans hoped for' during spring workouts
For an article published on Monday, The Athletic's Joe Rexrode mentioned that Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward was "everything the Titans hoped for" throughout the spring and developed a reputation for "gathering teammates for early-morning sessions."
On Tuesday, ESPN's Turron Davenport suggested that Ward is already viewed by his teammates as Tennessee's QB1 even though head coach Brian Callahan hasn't yet declared a winner of the competition between Ward and 2023 second-round draft pick Will Levis.
"Ward has already emerged as a leader," Davenport said. "He had a group of rookie pass catchers coming to the building at 5 a.m. for film study and never hesitated to tell a veteran receiver how he wants a route to be run. Ward also showed he's able to remain unfazed by mistakes. Ward threw an interception on Day 2 of minicamp before bouncing back by completing 18 consecutive passes. While interceptions should never be minimized, coach Brian Callahan loved his quarterback's resiliency."
Barring an injury, Levis seems to have no real chance of leapfrogging Ward on the depth chart ahead of Tennessee's Week 1 game at the Denver Broncos on Sept. 7. Callahan benched Levis due to poor play this past December. Pro Football Reference shows that the 25-year-old ended the 2024 regular season ranked last among qualified passers in the NFL with a 27.8 adjusted QBR.
Earlier in the offseason, Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker and general manager Mike Borgonzi hinted they would leave the door open for Levis to make the QB battle interesting by producing stellar performances during spring workouts. Instead, it sounds like Ward was the undisputed star of those sessions among Tennessee quarterbacks.
"Ward took most of the reps in team period and 7-on-7," Davenport added. "He turned in a solid performance against a variety of blitzes. On one rep, Ward made a check that resulted in a bomb to (wide receiver) Calvin Ridley for a touchdown."
Perhaps Callahan wants to see Ward in action during Tennessee's preseason opener at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 9 before the Titans confirm expected news regarding their quarterback situation. Unless Ward looks completely overwhelmed at Raymond James Stadium, he could end the second Monday of August as his team's full-time starting signal-caller.
More must-reads:
- Four-star WR flips from Georgia to Miami, expects Hurricanes to contend
- How NFL legend Jason Taylor secured four-star EDGE for Miami
- The 'No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft' quiz
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Patrick Mahomes has blunt take on Chiefs' disappointing season
The Kansas City Chiefs couldn't secure the win on Thanksgiving, dropping to 6-6 for the season after a 31-28 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys. All of Kansas City's losses have been by just one possession, and they might not even make the playoffs now. Thursday's loss followed an epic 23-20 overtime comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Every time it looks like the Chiefs will get back on track, they take a couple of steps back. That's why, even though he still believes in this team, quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a pretty blunt way of describing how the season has gone for Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes calls out the Chiefs' inconsistency “Our ceiling is playing in the Super Bowl," Mahomes said, per Marleah Campbell of KCTV. "We can beat anybody, but we’ve shown that we can lose to anybody.” Mahomes was the only bright spot for Andy Reid's team in the loss. He completed 66.7% of his passes for 261 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, and kept extending plays and making things happen behind a banged-up and inefficient offensive line. Kansas City's playoff hopes are alive for now, but it can't afford any mistakes from now on. They will face the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos at home, and they have road games against the Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans. Of course, facing the best defenses in the game and three divisional rivals is far from ideal, but there won't be a better way to prove that the Chiefs' dynasty is far from over.
Hal Steinbrenner’s comments on Yankees’ profits point to a larger issue
Over Thanksgiving week, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provided fans with plenty of news to digest. Among notable items that are circulating, four things stand out: his resolve to lower the payroll below $300 million, the insinuation that the Yankees are not a profitable ballclub, the assumption that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ astronomical payroll played no part in their dominance and his purported support for a salary cap. When seen together, these four items seem to suggest a severe reluctance to spend. Steinbrenner made it clear he wants to come in under the luxury tax threshold. Interestingly, he called the correlation between spending and championships weak, alluding to his Yankees as well as the New York Mets as examples of teams with high payrolls and limited success. However, this opens up a discussion about how said money was spent. The Mets notably dumped a record sum on signing Juan Soto, but did little elsewhere. But what about the Yankees? When asked if it was fair to say the Yankees turned a profit after engrossing over $700 million in revenue, Steinbrenner had this to say, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch: “That’s not a fair statement or an accurate statement. Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the City of New York that we have to pay every February 1, including the COVID year. So, it all starts to add up in a hurry. “Nobody spends more money, I don’t believe, on player development, scouting, performance science. These all start to add up.” Altogether, the Yankees spent slightly under $305 million on players’ salaries in 2025. For a breakeven season, the Yankees would have needed to spend over $395 million elsewhere. Where did it all go? Steinbrenner mentioned the $100 million expense to New York City. As for the bulk of their expenses, the Yankees owner pointed towards player development, scouting and performance science. This raises a more serious question about mismanagement. The Yankees are overspending on failing analytics If most of the money was spent on development, scouting and performance science, one could easily argue that the cost has outweighed the benefits. Despite having spent so much, these efforts have produced very little. Over the years, the Yankees have seen more failures than success stories when developing major league talent. Promising players and top prospects like Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Deivi Garcia, Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Oswald Peraza and Estevan Florial, among many others, never panned out. The team also gave up on Carlos Narvaez and Agustin Ramirez in favor of Austin Wells, who underperformed the pair of rookie backstops this past season. Another catching prospect, Yankees 2018 first-round draft pick Anthony Seigler, who struggled during his time in the Yankees’ farm system as recently as last year, excelled with the Milwaukee Brewers in Triple-A this year. Anthony Volpe, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Jasson Dominguez are four current works in progress. It might also be fair to say the torpedo bat craze the Yankees started has officially ended. Of their recent triumphs, the Yankees boast Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler. Going further back, one might add Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge to the list; however, Judge’s swing was actually developed by famed hitting coach Richard Schenck, not the Yankees. Spending on these efforts is by no means a waste; nonetheless, it’s clear the Yankees are grossly overspending for something that isn't even working. Whether it means an organizational shakeup or reallocation of funds to target proven major league talent, Steinbrenner’s approach needs to change.
Eagles' grip on NFC East suddenly in danger of slipping away amid spiral, Cowboys' resurgence
Life comes at you fast in the NFL, and the Philadelphia Eagles are finding that out right now. Now they are in a position where what looked to be a runaway lead in the NFC East is rapidly shrinking, and it could be in danger of completely slipping away after an ugly 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears on Friday. Especially after the Dallas Cowboys won again on Thursday, continuing to narrow the gap in the division. Could the Eagles actually lose the division? The odds are still in the Eagles' favor, but given the way both teams are playing right now, nothing should be considered a given. Dallas has rapidly become one of the hottest teams in the NFL with three consecutive wins, and boasts one of the league's best offenses. The Cowboys' much-maligned defense has also been given a massive boost thanks to the trade-deadline addition of defensive lineman Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets. Dallas really started to get some belief for itself when it rallied to beat the Eagles in a massive NFC East game a week ago. It continued on Thanksgiving with another big win over the Kansas City Chiefs. With Philadelphia's loss on Friday, the gap in the division is now down to just a game-and-a-half with five weeks to go in the season. Hardly insurmountable. Are the Eagles still in the driver's seat? Sure. Would they trade positions with the Cowboys right now? No way. But that doesn't mean anybody in Philadelphia has to be feeling good about any of this given the way the Eagles are playing. Especially when it comes to the team's offense. The Eagles offense has been a struggle for much of the season, and it is getting progressively worse with each game. The passing game has been non-existent. They entered play on Friday with the 23rd-ranked passing offense in the league, and it looked worse than that against the Bears. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has struggled with consistency, the team's best wide receiver — A.J. Brown — seems perpetually miserable with his role and usage, and the play-calling has become shockingly conservative and bland. The running game that carried the Eagles to the Super Bowl a year ago has struggled to build any sort of a rhythm, and Saquon Barkley has been a shell of what he was last season. Even worse, they have almost completely eliminated any designed runs for Hurts, something that was a major X-factor for the offense in recent years. If all of that is not concerning enough, a new issue emerged on Friday — the defense that has helped keep the Eagles afloat this season and lift up the inconsistent offense was completely dominated by the Bears' running game. They were pushed around, bullied and could not get off the field on important third downs. It just looks like a team that has no confidence and nothing going for it. Conversely, the Cowboys all of a sudden look like a team that can do nothing wrong and they are suddenly breathing right down the Eagles' necks. Philadelphia still has games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders (twice) remaining. The Cowboys still have the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Chargers, Commanders and New York Giants. The schedules are pretty similar. But the division might not come down to the opponents. It might come down to what the Eagles and Cowboys can do on their own. The Cowboys should be very confident right now, and the Eagles should not be.
Frank Ragnow's comeback foiled by familiar foe, and Lions need a Plan B
Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow failed his physical and will not play in 2025, per a team announcement. Detroit’s medical team found a Grade 3 hamstring strain that will prevent Ragnow from completing his comeback attempt after retiring this offseason. Head coach Dan Campbell said that Ragnow informed the team about the injury, prompting further evaluation. That revealed a more severe injury that immediately eliminated the chance of Detroit’s longtime center playing this season. Ragnow, 29, came out of retirement after the Lions suffered multiple injuries along their offensive line. Left guard Christian Mahogany broke his leg in Week 9 and could be out until the new year. Center Graham Glasgow did not play on Thanksgiving due to a knee injury. Lions must have Plan B in wake of Frank Ragnow news Mahogany has been replaced by Kayode Awosika, while Trystan Colon filled in for Glasgow on Thursday. If Ragnow had returned, he would have taken over at center and moved Glasgow to left guard, his spot in 2024, once he was healthy. Ragnow would have been a boost to the Lions offensive line. Although the unit is not exactly struggling, the injuries have left them without their preferred options. Ragnow, a four-time Pro Bowler, has been one of the league’s best centers for the last several years. In his last five seasons, he allowed just four sacks and earned a 90.0 grade from Pro Football Focus three times. Instead, the Lions will have to stick with Awosika, Colon and Glasgow to fill their left guard and center spots. The first has only played guard, but the latter two line up at both spots, giving Detroit a few potential combinations. Rookie Miles Frazier came off the non-football injury list this week and could get a look as well. He primarily played right guard in college, but spent time at left guard in 2022 and would likely step in there. Age, injury history could prevent Frank Ragnow from trying to make another comeback As for Ragnow, his age indicates that he could try again in 2026, but his initial retirement was partially driven by the injuries he suffered throughout his career. His only full season came in 2020. Since his comeback was foiled by another injury, he may take it as confirmation of his initial decision. Campbell said that nothing had been discussed regarding Ragnow’s future, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
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