Titans' Cam Ward reveals 'best advice' he has received from Peyton Manning

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward is learning about life in the NFL the hard way, as he lost five of his first six regular-season starts before the Titans unceremoniously fired head coach Brian Callahan.

For a piece published on Friday, Turron Davenport of ESPN touched upon how Ward has kept in touch with Peyton Manning ever since the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft met the Hall of Famer at the Manning Passing Academy a few years ago.

What Peyton Manning told Cam Ward amid the rookie's struggles

"Just having a relationship with Peyton, it's cool because he constantly tells me the little things I have to work on," Ward recently remarked. "Keep on going one day at a time. I'd say the best advice he gave me is no matter how high you get or how low you get, you just got to continue to be yourself, lead the guys the way you know how to lead them, and at the end of the day, just play football."

The Titans' dismissal of Callahan was reportedly related to concerns about Ward's development, as the 23-year-old mostly failed to impress over the opening half of his debut pro campaign. According to Pro Football Reference, Ward will enter the first weekend of November ranked 32nd out of 33 qualified players with a 25.7 adjusted QBR and 33rd out of 34 qualified quarterbacks with a 71.7 passer rating for the season. Across eight games, Ward tossed five touchdown passes and six interceptions. 

Are Titans worried about how Cam Ward is handling adversity? 

The Titans elevated senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy to the role of interim head coach following the firing of Callahan. McCoy recently indicated he's confident that Ward won't get too down on himself during what's bound to be a season filled with more lows than highs. 

"Being a rookie at any position, you're going to see something at times for the first time, and you just learn from it and you just keep rolling," McCoy said about Ward. "I think he's done an outstanding job. You see him, he's steady Eddie all the time. We had plenty of discussions about being a rookie, how it's going to take time. Playing the quarterback position, it's not easy."

Ward and the 1-7 Titans will next host the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) this coming Sunday. As of Friday morning, ESPN BET had Tennessee as a 9.5-point home underdog for that game.