Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) throws the ball during an NFL football training camp practice at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Titans Make Decision on Starters for Preseason Opener

Originally posted on Tennessee Titans on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Aug 6, 2025 4:00 PM ET

To play starters or not to play starters, that is the question every NFL team faces in the preseason.

Some teams are very adamant about not playing their starters in the preseason, not having done so in severl years. However, other teams are more than comfortable with playing their starters for at least a couple of drives, valuing the experience the preseason can provide.

As a young team with plenty of players looking to prove themselves, the Tennessee Titans fall into the latter camp. Following Wednesday's practice, head coach Brian Callahan announced that the team's starters, including No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward , will playin all three preseason games, the first of which comes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.

"Our starters are going to play," Callahan told reporters. "We're going to play in all three preseason games just like we did last year, similar process. The joint practices do change a little bit of how much -- you gotta gauge how physical the practices and how much those guys might need, but they're going to play in every game, and we're going to let Cam play. So he's going to be on the field playing football. Hard to say how much at the moment, we'll work through that as we get through the practice tomorrow, but I would imagine for sure a series and maybe two in the first game with the starters."

Live Press Conference: 7:40 AM CT: HC Brian Callahan https://t.co/wLIdW0uFjq
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The Titans have a joint practice with the Buccaneers on Thursday, then another with the Atlanta Falcons next week. So even if Ward and co. only play briefly in the preseason, they'll still get some good reps in.

Ward was previously in a competition with third-year pro Will Levis for the starting job (or at least Callahan pretended that was the case), but after the latter underwent season-ending shoulder surgery last month, the starting job is his alone. The 23-year-old had an outstanding season last year at Miami, throwing for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns with only seven interceptions. However, the NFL is a different beast, especially with him joining a rebuilding team like Tennessee.

With his regular season debut now just a month away, Ward getting in some extra reps should help him tremendously.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Titans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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