‘This year is personal’ Roger McCreary sounds off on huge 2025 season, what a successful year looks like, Cam Ward, and more
McCreary has big plans for 2025
Tennessee Titans veteran CB Roger McCreary sat down with Mike Garafolo and Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network this week to talk about his big year upcoming, Cam Ward, and the Titans’ expectations heading into 2025.
Mike Garafolo opened with a question about a recent social media post by McCreary, in which he said this year is personal. What did that mean?
“It means a lot, this year is personal. Everybody knows me as a quiet guy I would say, and I feel like going into year four, I’ve got to show them me. I’ve just got to express who I truly am on and off the field. And I feel like this year is contract year and I'm going to just give everybody all I got and just show people what I'm truly made of on that field. That's what it meant. That's what it means right now.”
It is, in fact, a massive year for McCreary in more ways than one. He’s entering the final year of his deal, hoping to peak at the right time to cash in on the ever-rising tide of cornerback contracts. Nickel corners in particular have just recently begun to see their financial value increase, as we slowly begin to realize as a football collective that slot corners are starters too!
He also may constitute the only “sure” thing in this CB room heading into camp. Jarvis Brownlee has a lot to prove still, and L’Jarius Sneed’s health situation is still a massive question mark. He may be leaned on heavily at points this season to lead that room. So what does a successful year for him and his team look like in his own opinion?
“Usually when people ask me that I'll be like, it's just get better every year. That's always been my goal, is just to get better every year. But now it's me trying to be the top. I want to be the top corner… because I feel like a lot of people look over me and just don't look at the plays I make on the field. So it's just my time to show people that I'm out there. I'm on the field. I matter. I'm going to show them that, and going into this season with the Titans, I feel like we're going to show people what we’re really made of, what we truly are, because I feel like a lot of people don't respect us.”
Perceived disrespect—whether it be from fans, the media, or the league generally—seems to be a common theme amongst veteran Titans leadership. Jeffery Simmons spoke to the same thing on an interview he did this week. And Titans players also seem to agree that with Cam Ward at the helm, they’re about to prove a lot of people wrong.
“They don't talk about the team a lot. And I feel like this year, especially with Cam Ward, that quarterback, I feel like we're going to do good with him.”
McCreary was asked about what compels him to be such a physical player at cornerback, willing to stick his nose in the chaos of rushing the passer or stopping the run:
“I feel like, you know, a corner, they always think of just sticking to the receiver. But me, I feel I bring more to the game. I can tackle, I'm more of a leader now. I feel I got to step up more and be that. So tackling, I'm going to be out there communicating, pass and flashing is everything. Just be around the ball. And that's basically what I'm going to show everybody this year, is that I'm all around the ball, no matter what. All around the ball.”
He was also asked about his early perception of Cam Ward:
“I've seen him play a little bit in Miami a little bit. I didn't know his game, but finally when I seen him in person, that person, you just tell that the person you see on TV, that's exactly how he was in person, you know? When I first got out there, I'm like, let's see, let's see what Cam Ward is about. And that's exactly what he truly is. Exactly what he did in Miami.“
Check out the rest of McCreary’s interview right here.
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