NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans host the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks for a joint training camp practice on Friday and a preseason game on Sunday. New head coach Robert Saleh has scheduled three consecutive weeks of joint training camp practice with three different clubs, and it is clear he relishes the opportunity these sessions provide.

Of the many storylines entering the week, three position group matchups stand out above the rest.

Cam Ward must prove the San Francisco showing was an outlier

The former No. 1 overall pick’s performance against the San Francisco 49ers’ backups was simply unacceptable. Ward finished 5-of-12 after three series. He was seeing things correctly but could not execute the throws with proper ball placement. The night included a completely inexcusable intentional grounding call that, in a real game situation, would have in all likelihood resulted in a fumble.

That feeds into lingering concerns from Ward’s rookie season, when he had a legitimate fumbling problem for the first two-thirds of the year.

It has been enough time for Ward to work with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll in this offense. I know some people will push back on that, but at the very least, I think it is a sufficient amount of time for a player who has played 17 regular season games as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Ward needed to be better Friday and he needs to be better Sunday night when he plays, in all likelihood, Seattle’s backups again. The plan is to get the starters about 25 to 30 snaps, per Saleh.

Ward did play a regular season game against Seattle last November and turned in one of his cleaner performances of a season that did not have many good ones. He finished 28-of-42 for 256 yards with a touchdown pass and a 66.7% completion rate. He was sacked four times in a 30-24 loss, and 42 dropbacks is outrageous, but it was one of those moments where you said, okay, “Cam can handle this level of pro football”. To that point it was still very much in question whether he would sink or swim in the NFL.

Friday’s practice against a championship-caliber defense will be a huge focal point.

Cor’Dale Flott and Alontae Taylor need to prove they belong

The second matchup worth watching is Tennessee’s cornerback group, because the 49ers joint practice and preseason game exposed real problems. Cor’Dale Flott, a free agent signing by way of the New York Giants, and Alontae Taylor, another free agent signing from the New Orleans Saints, have been a liability for the most part in practices and in game action.

Flott got taken for a ride by 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who was excellent against him. Flott was around the football and in position to make plays, but he simply did not make any and has not made many at all so far in camp.

Taylor did pick off a tipped ball in Wednesday’s practice, which counts as a good play, but both corners need to more consistently break up passes and make plays in the passing game.

They need to be better against reigning Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is expected to participate Friday. Smith-Njigba was one of the reasons the Titans lost to the Seahawks by double digits a year ago. He is an excellent player, and this is a real test for Tennessee’s corners. Maybe there is no way for them to come out looking clean, but they have to be competitive. Because competitive was not something you felt like you were getting out of Taylor and Flott against San Francisco.

Can Tennessee’s offensive line establish a ground game against Seattle’s front?

One of the more positive notes from the preseason win in Santa Clara was the Titans’ ability to run the ball, highlighted by a 95-yard, 11-play touchdown-scoring drive capped by running back Tony Pollard. They ran the ball consistently and at an efficient clip against the 49ers’ backups.

The question now is whether they can do the same against Leonard Williams and that great Seattle front. Rookie starting right guard Fernando Carmona is going to have his hands full. He has been working against All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons on a frequent basis in practice, putting up a hell of a fight. Carmona does not win the majority of those reps, but Simmons beats the best with regularity. Carmona is cutting his teeth in about as good a way as possible because he is getting wins over Simmons, even if they are more infrequent than Simmons’ wins over him.

How Tennessee runs the football against Seattle will be incredibly telling. The Titans will need a more balanced offensive attack in 2026, and Friday’s practice is the next proving ground.