NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward enters his second NFL season carrying a label none of his predecessors owned: No. 1 overall pick.

That distinction separates him from Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill, Will Levis, and every other quarterback who has started for this franchise in the Titans era. It also means the grace period is over before it starts.

The Titans have spent the better part of a decade making excuses for their quarterbacks. Ward will not receive that courtesy, and he shouldn’t.

The pattern Tennessee must break

Mariota was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and was viewed as a potential franchise quarterback from the moment he arrived. His body ultimately failed him, but the organization and those covering the team (myself included) kept trying to manifest a version of Mariota who could secure the job long after the evidence suggested otherwise.

Tennessee started the 2019 season 2-4 before finally making the switch to Tannehill in Week 6 against the Broncos. That change should have come sooner.

Tannehill then led one of the most successful stretches in franchise history. In 2020, he was a massive part of facilitating the best offense of the Titans era while Derrick Henry rushed for 2,000 yards. The two fed off each other’s abilities in a way the franchise hadn’t seen since Steve McNair and Eddie George. Many Titans fans would hesitate to call Tannehill a franchise quarterback, which is strange considering he is the most statistically accomplished quarterback in Titans history, more so than McNair, and the second-best quarterback to play for this franchise since 1999.

Yet excuses were made for Tannehill far past his expiration date, too. The organization laid the groundwork to move on by drafting Malik Willis and then Will Levis, but out of necessity, Tannehill remained in the lineup longer than he should have.

The result was more harsh feelings toward Tannehill than positive memories of the good work he did, including leading Tennessee to the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2021. The lasting image became 3 interceptions in the divisional round against Cincinnati rather than the playoff runs and the regular-season dominance.

Cam Ward carries a different burden

Levis and Willis can be set aside for the purposes of this conversation. Willis was a developmental third-round pick who was never viewed as a franchise player. Levis was a second-round pick the organization tried to build around, but he cratered to a 1-10 record as a full-time starter and was wholly ineffectual. Neither warranted the kind of long-term evaluation that Mariota and Tannehill received.

Ward is different. There is a gap between being the No. 1 overall pick and even the No. 2 selection. Look at Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson to see how quickly that distinction can cut both ways. Ward will carry the No. 1 overall label for his entire career, boom or bust.

And for good or bad, that means the standard is higher. It is not because Ward is a bad person. It is not because anyone is out to get him. It is because making excuses for quarterbacks was one of the biggest failings in the coverage of this franchise over the past several years, and I will not repeat that mistake.

No excuses remain

Right now, there is no evidence Cam Ward will take the step the Titans need him to take. There is concern, and concern is different from panic. Media members expressed legitimate worry after OTAs and minicamp when Ward was completing roughly half of his passes. Some fans and bad actors turned that concern into a hot-button issue, but the underlying questions are fair.

Ward completed about half of his passes during his rookie season on a bad football team. This year’s roster is both substantially improved and deeper. The coaching staff is much more experienced compared to what Ward dealt with last season. 

Every excuse has been stripped away.

Ward needs to be the reason the rebuild is viewed as heading in the right direction. He  needs to show he belongs in the top half of NFL quarterbacks this season.

The greater burden on Ward is real, greater than any Titans quarterback before him, including McNair, who was not the No. 1 overall pick in his draft. Whether that standard is fair is beside the point. It is the prism through which Ward will be and should be evaluated.