Titans' Robert Saleh wants 'grace' for Cam Ward after calls for QB's benching

Discussions about whether or not first-year Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh should bench second-year quarterback Cam Ward in favor of backup Mitchell Trubisky temporarily quieted down after Ward helped the Titans earn a 26-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts that improved Tennessee to 1-5 this past Sunday. 

During a recent chat with NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Saleh campaigned for Titans fans not to give up on Ward quite yet. 

Robert Saleh: Cam Ward still needs "time to grow" 

"It goes without saying that when there’s failure, the quarterback’s always going to take a beating," Saleh told Breer. "It is what it is, the quarterback and the head coach. ...[Ward has] got a lot of talent. He’s doing a lot of different things well. I’m not going to hide behind the fact that he’s got things that he needs to improve on, but he also knows that. Just talking with (Colts head coach) Shane Steichen before the game, we were talking about college and just the development of quarterbacks, like [Ward] needs some grace. Give him a chance to grow. Give him a chance to get better. Give him a chance to understand a completely new offense with completely new players and completely new coaches. And let’s see where he can take it." 

Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon found the loss to the Titans so unacceptable that she fired general manager Chris Ballard on Monday. Meanwhile, Ward was hardly elite against the Colts, as he went 11-of-22 passing for just 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his first win under Saleh and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Robert Saleh: Cam Ward is "too talented," "works too hard" to fail

According to Pro Football Reference, Ward ended Week 6 ranked 29th in the NFL among qualified players with a 39.5 adjusted QBR, 29th with a 75.0 passer rating and 31st with an average of 166.3 passing yards per game for the season. Over the campaign's first six weeks, he tossed four touchdown passes and four interceptions. Such numbers may sound alarms in the minds of Titans supporters, but Saleh seems convinced the best is to come from the 24-year-old.

"He’s too talented," Saleh continued while speaking about Ward. "He works too hard. It means too much to him for him to fail. I believe that in my heart. And yes, while I acknowledge that he has a lot of things to get better at, he also does a lot of things very, very well that get lost in losing. And we’re going to continue to build him up. We’re going to continue to find things that he does really well. We’re going to continue to amplify those. And I think Cam’s going to be a really good quarterback in this league for a long time."

Ward and the Titans will next welcome the 4-2 Cleveland Browns to Nissan Stadium this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had Tennessee as a 1.5-point home underdog for that matchup.