‘It matters a lot’ — Cam Ward emphasizes how much he values something only Xavier Restrepo can give him if he’s elevated to play in Week 12

The Tennessee Titans wide receiver situation is in an increasingly tenuous one heading into Week 12. Rookie QB Cam Ward has already had to work with less than ideal circumstances around him all year, and after a trio of WR injuries in their Week 11 loss to the Texans, things are only getting shakier. Calvin Ridley broke his leg and is out for the year, Elic Ayomanor is nursing a hamstring injury, and Chimere Dike is trying to practice and play through a chest contusion.

This leaves Van Jefferson, Mason Kinsey, and James Proche as the “fully” healthy active roster receivers at Ward’s disposal. Naturally, this has led to an uptick in calls to see practice squad WR Xavier Restrepo given his chance to play with his college QB this Sunday, and both Restrepo and Ward talked about the element of their game that they value most this week. It’s the reason why the Titans should take this opportunity to give Restrepo some run.

Chemistry is why Xavier Restrepo should play Sunday

Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo have thousands of practice and game reps logged with one another in their lives. That experience is meaningful. Chemistry is something that can’t be manufactured between a passer and their target without time and reps. And being on the same wavelength mentally is an intangible element to the QB-WR connection that can be the difference in a play succeeding or failing. I can’t help but think that a near-explosive TD like Ward and Mason Kinsey failed to connect on in Week 11 is the kind of play where lack of chemistry and experience plays a roll. They weren’t on the same page, and it made all the difference.

Don’t just take my word for it, listen to what the players had to say about it when we asked them on Wednesday:

“It matters a lot,” Ward said at his presser. “And I had chemistry with every receiver in my past, from high school all the way to every stop I made in college. And it’s because we can—it’s more of a freelance we can play with. I don’t care how you run the route, if I know you’re going to be there at this time, when I’m at this point in my drop, the ball’s coming your way. And we have that here. The only bad thing just the injuries that we dealt with, you kind of lose chemistry on guys just because they get caught up and you haven’t got a lot of reps. So that’s something that you got to get into practice.”

When asked about Restrepo’s chances of seeing the field this week, Ward smiled. “I mean, we’re going to see, man. I know 87 (Xavier Restrepo) is going to be ready. I got chemistry with him, so if he gets a shot this week I’ll make sure he’ll know what to do and if he get the ball he’s going to show you all what he can do.”

When we caught up with Restrepo in the locker room, he echoed that sentiment. “I mean, yeah, I think it’s always a good thing to have a relationship between quarterback and receiver, or even tight end or running back. Even on the defensive side, chemistry is what’s important. So again, like I said, if my number’s called, Cam knows I’m ready and everybody else knows I’m ready as well.”