The NFL preseason is notorious for not mattering. In general, it is used to get a look at rookies and younger players in their first NFL game action of any kind, as well as giving players on the roster bubble a chance to show that they can hang with other professional players. The players who would be considered starters receive very little action, if any at all.
However, if you have paid any attention to the discourse from the Tennessee Titans fanbase throughout the preseason, you would think the sky has already fallen.
While the Titans finished the preseason 2-1, underwhelming performances from the starting units and key players have caused many questions and concerns for fans and media weeks before the real action even begins.
How much should we really be worrying about Cam Ward?
While there were a lot of changes in Nashville throughout the 2026 offseason, much of the excitment and talk around the team centered around second-year quarterback Cam Ward. Many fans and analysts around the team and the sport were eager to see if Ward could take a sophomore jump and how he would look with upgraded weapons and the coaching of new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
Fast forward to the end of the preseason, and there seems to be more concerns than ever before for Ward as a professional quarterback.
Throughout the two preseason games that Ward played, there were not many positives to write home about. In the first game against the San Francisco 49ers, Ward looked off in his first kind of any real action in Daboll's new offense, rushing his processing and throwing mechanics and missing throws that seemed intended as layups for him to hit, finishing 5-12 passing. He also took a bad intentional grounding penalty that was very reminiscent of his early-rookie season ball security issues.
Ward looked slightly better in the second preseason against the Seattle Seahawks, but a couple of bad misses and a nearly lost fumble while scrambling during his limited action did not silence any concerns from the first preseason game. Ward would finish the preseason with a 29.1 grade from Pro Football Focus, which ranked dead last among qualified quarterbacks.
The truth is that preseason performances notoriously do not really translate to regular season success, and Ward was certainly not the only starter who struggled in the preseason. He is also still getting used to new aspects of the team, such as new receivers to throw to and a new offensive scheme to learn, so a slow start to the season is not abnormal.
However, in order to quiet some of the noise after a rough preseason (and an overall underwhelming rookie season), Ward may need to adapt to these new surroundings faster than usual.
The new-look defense seemed to struggle a lot more than expected
After the hiring of new head coach and former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh in January, the Titans made it a point to mold their defense into his liking as much as possible.
Free agent signings such as defensive linemen John Franklin-Myers and Jermaine Johnson II along cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Cordale Flott headlined a busy free agency on the defensive side of the ball, and draft picks such as defensive lineman Keldric Faulk and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. added some extra young talent to the group.
However, once the preseason started, the offseason excitement about the unit was quickly brought back to earth. Going up against mostly the backup offenses of the 49ers and Seahawks, the defensive line struggled to get pressure on Kurtis Rourke and Drew Lock, who both also were able to consistently connect with their receivers and go to work on the Titans starting secondary. In the Seahawks game, the rushing defense also struggled, including giving up a 69-yard rushing touchdown to Jacardia Wright.
Veterans weren't excluded from the fan complaints, either. Flott and linebacker Cody Barton received much of the criticism, but superstar Jeffery Simmons also struggled to make much of an impact against second and third-stringers.
Like Ward and the offense, the defense is learning a new scheme, as well as learning to gel with a lot of new players. But with Saleh's calling card looking this concerning early against supposedly inferior competition, they will need to start getting stops quickly into the regular season.
The emergence of Fernando Carmona could be a game changer
Despite the uproars, the Titans' preseason performance had some bright spots as well, namely rookie right guard Fernando Carmona.
Carmona was drafted in the fifth round out of Arkansas back in April to much fan confusion. Carmona was ranked as the 248th prospect on the consensus big board and wasn't as well known as some of the other offensive line prospects still available at that time. If anything, Carmona's claim to fame was being caught on video stomping on an opposing players ankle during the 2024 Liberty Bowl.
While Carmona would compete for the starting right guard spot, the attention for that position battle would be on 2026 free agent signing Cordell Volson. As Volson struggled throughout the summer and into training camp, Carmona would make a good impressions for himself and quietly gain ground on him. It even reached the point where Carmona would take the field with the starters for the first two preseason games. He would grade out with the second highest Pro Football Focus grade among rookies for the entire preseason at an elite 90.5, and only allowed one pressure on 40 pass blocking snaps.
Following the conclusion of the preseason, Volson would be cut and Carmona would be announced as the Titans' starting right guard for their Week One matchup against the Jets.
The obvious hope is that Carmona can continue to impress into the regular season. If that can come to fruition, than the Titans have suddenly stumbled upon a long term solution on an offensive line that did not seem to have much hope a few months ago.
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