Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan is setting reasonable expectations for rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
“Week one gets made into this benchmark moment of a season,” Callahan said. “It’s really just one game of 17—that you certainly want to play well in. But you still [have] got to have some perspective on it, and you don’t need anything crazy. He just needs to be one of the 11 guys on the field on offense doing his part to help us win.”
To do that, Callahan said Ward needs to make smart decisions and not turn the ball over. But he believes the rookie can make all the throws they ask of him, and wants him to play within his ability. The rest of the team needs to play well around Ward, he added.
Callahan acknowledged his opponents’ talent and the hostile environment, but said he is keeping Ward’s focus on the Titans’ game plan.
“[Y]ou walk on the field there, it’s still 100 yards long, and 10-yard end zones, and 53 and 1/3 yards wide, and doesn’t really change. Just that approach, I think, helps. We don’t need him to do anything superhuman, just need him to play good football and need the guys around him to play well for him.”
The Broncos return nearly every player from that defense, including reigning Defensive Player of the Year, cornerback Patrick Surtain II; 2024 All-Pros, defensive lineman Zach Allen and edge rusher Nik Bonitto; along with Bonitto’s counterpart, Jonathan Cooper, who added 10.5 sacks to Bonitto’s 13.5.
It doesn’t get easier over the following weeks. In Week 2, the Titans face off against the Los Angeles Rams and last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, edge rusher Jared Verse. The Rams started off the year slowly, but held opponents to less than 10 points in three of their final four regular-season games; they also held the 14-win Minnesota Vikings to just 9 points in the Wild Card round last season. They then square off against the AFC South rival Indianapolis Colts, who were seventh in the league in interceptions last season.
Finally, in Week 4, they play the Houston Texans, who won the AFC South on the back of their defense, which ranked fifth in total yards allowed, sixth in passing yards allowed, 11th in rushing yards, and 14th in points allowed per game. They also ranked fifth in turnovers and second in interceptions.
Navigating these trials will be a difficult test, but Callahan has previous experience developing a number-one draft pick. In his previous position as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, he helped develop 2020 first overall pick Joe Burrow. Under Callahan, the Bengals went to Super Bowl LVI in Burrow’s second year in the NFL in 2021; Burrow earned Comeback Player of the Year Honors that year, and his first Pro Bowl nod in 2022; and he had two consecutive seasons with 4,000+ passing yards and 30+ touchdowns in 2021 and 2022.
“The biggest thing is, you’re just trying to put him in a position to be as successful as possible in his first week,” he said.
“And a lot of that’s going to have to do with just doing the things he knows and knows well, and operating a system. Try to keep it...something manageable, where he feels confident and we have enough ammunition, for lack of a better term, but still be able to have a grasp of all of it and be able to execute when he needs to.
“So that’s the biggest key, I think, for a young quarterback, is that particular process, whether it was Joe in 2020 or Cam here to open the season in ‘25. I think that process remained pretty similar.”
