NASHVILLE — Quarterback Cam Ward did not lose Sunday’s game for the Tennessee Titans against the Cleveland Browns. He didn’t do enough to win it, either. The 27-24 loss dropped Tennessee to 1-6 and puts the former No. 1 overall pick at a critical juncture of his NFL career with the trade deadline about two weeks away.

Ward is now 4-20 as a starter. He is on pace to shatter the record for the most regular-season losses by a starting quarterback in his first two seasons, a list that includes Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, and Derek Carr. Wins and losses aren’t strictly a quarterback stat. Still, when the split is that extreme through 24 career starts, it’s fair to say the quarterback isn’t helping.

On Sunday, Ward was a push at best. The Titans don’t lose without his interception to Browns cornerback Denzel Ward. That turnover started a snowball, and a 14-point lead (with a chance to go up 21-7) became a 17-14 Cleveland lead at halftime. Tennessee also doesn’t get the chance to tie late without Ward’s big throws to receiver Elic Ayomanor and Carnell Tate. Those plays set up first-and-goal for running back Tony Pollard’s third touchdown of the day.

Ward doesn’t play defense, though. He couldn’t keep Deshaun Watson from driving the Browns into range for the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Robert Saleh’s defense of Cam Ward goes too far

Head coach Robert Saleh was asked about the offense stalling out after building a two-score lead and came to his quarterback’s defense.

“Yesterday I thought we did a nice job,” Saleh told reporters. “He had a couple of situations where we were able to get back on track. I think on the first drive he completed a dart over Tate to keep the drive moving. The next play, Tony hits that big run for a touchdown. And then off the takeaway, hits Michael Carter on a third down. They keep the sticks moving.

“So I thought he did some good things in the first couple of drives to get things going. And then from there, just obviously there was a little lull. I, again, I thought we had a really nice drive to get to first and to get to the goal line. Like, he made a lot of really nice plays there to put ourselves in a position to go score. We didn’t.

“But yesterday I thought he played a good game,” Saleh continued. “Not an exceptional game because again, he had things that he has to fix, but I don’t think he was— you can’t possibly watch that film and say Cam Ward did not play good winning football. You can’t. Now, there’s things he has to fix, but if anyone’s trying to pin this loss on him, you’re just trying to make s*** up.”

Saleh’s final words left no room for interpretation: You’re just trying to make s*** up.

This is where I part ways with Saleh. I can’t say Ward played winning football because Ward didn’t win. He helped set up a tie, and the Titans might have pulled it out in overtime if the defense had gotten a stop. If the defense had been average, Ward could have won a football game. He still didn’t. Arguing otherwise requires mental gymnastics I simply can’t do.

Tennessee has no margin for error, and the quarterback isn’t good enough to overcome that. Asking Ward to make fewer mistakes than anyone else on the field is a high bar. It’s also the obligation of the position.

I am sympathetic to Saleh’s larger point. Ward doesn’t need to be villainized, and he wasn’t the primary reason the Titans lost.

The Titans’ trade deadline decision puts Cam Ward in serious danger

The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10, and Tennessee needs continued roster turnover. The Titans have tried to plug holes through free agency ever since the end of Jon Robinson’s tenure. Ran Carthon failed to build a sustainable roster that way. General manager Mike Borgonzi has failed, too, and this roster is tracking to be worse than the previous two.

Tennessee is paying cornerback Alontae Taylor $60 million to ride the bench. Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott has interceptions in back-to-back weeks, but the Titans would rather have that kind of player on a rookie contract than pay for past production. The same goes for edge rusher Jermaine Johnson on a one-year deal. It also applies to Pollard, who arrived on a three-year, $21 million deal.

Zach Lyons of Cover Two, who hosts the radio show after mine, walked into the studio Monday with a thought.

“You know, if you gave Brian Callahan this football team, they would win more games,” Lyons said.

I can’t make the argument for or against it. It’s a funny concept, and it raises a fair question about how this keeps getting worse.

Selling could mean moving Pollard, Johnson, receiver Calvin Ridley, and possibly Taylor. I would be stunned if somebody took on Taylor’s contract less than a year into the deal. He has been a healthy scratch for most of two weeks. He was active Sunday against the Browns but didn’t play a single snap on defense or special teams. I can only speculate that Tennessee is shielding him from injury ahead of a potential trade in the next two weeks.

Selling off pieces means waving the white flag on 2026 at the halfway point while still trying to support the quarterback enough to get an answer on him.

Maybe the Titans already have that answer. Ward is not a winning player, not a game-changing player, and does not possess elite traits. His mental makeup is excellent. The rest leaves a lot to be desired, and he isn’t progressing in a reasonable amount of time.

Is 24 starts not enough? Then when is it? At 30 starts, at 35, or after he breaks the two-season losses record? An element of grace can be built into the Ward conversation, but leadership only matters if the production follows.

The Titans must choose whether to pull pieces away from Ward to stockpile draft capital, or forsake that capital to give him the best possible chance. That decision is coming, if it isn’t already here.