The Tennessee Titans overhauled the coaching staff this offseason. With Robert Saleh taking over as head coach, he brought Brian Daboll with him to be the offensive coordinator.
For a team that has Cam Ward entering his sophomore season, adding Daboll should be beneficial for his development. OTAs have been underway in Tennessee, and Thursday's practice was open to the media. Ward expressed to reporters that he lost 10 pounds this offseason after weighing roughly 219 pounds as a rookie.
He believes being lighter will help play quicker and last longer throughout the season.
"I think it'll help me with durability. Just being faster, getting up in the pocket, and trying to play my speed. I watch my diet more, continue to have more cardio, just work on my body, just now here and when I'm away from the building," Ward said per ESPN's Turron Davenport.
While Ward wasn't known for being a running threat throughout his rookie season, dropping some weight could help him expand that area of his game. And ESPN's Jeremy Fowler pointed out some stats that show Daboll's willingness to dial up rushing attempts for his quarterback.
Cam Ward dropped 10 pounds in offseason that could help Titans QB in 2026
Fowler revealed that under Daboll in 2021, Josh Allen averaged 7.2 rushing attempts per game. In 2022, Daniel Jones averaged 7.5 attempts per outing, and last season, Jaxson Dart averaged 7.2 attempts per game.
While all three quarterbacks listed were known for their ability to pick up yards with their legs, it's clear that this is something Daboll is comfortable drawing up. And that means there's a possibility that he'll add that to Ward's arsenal in 2026. It helps that the Miami product lost some weight to get quicker, and playing in Daboll's system may have pushed that envelope more.
In 2021 and 2022, Allen and Jones both finished with 120-plus carries. Meanwhile, Dart had 57 carries before Daboll got canned in November. He's very comfortable getting his quarterbacks involved that way, and it wouldn't be surprising if he brought that out with Ward.
Obviously, that isn't an elite strength of Ward, but Daboll may look to develop that part of his game, and it'll open up other parts of the offense in the process. We all know that Ward has a powerful arm, and it was on display in Thursday's practice. He reportedly had a 50-yard touchdown pass to receiver Carnell Tate and was seen hitting tight Gunnar Helm over the middle in the last team period.
Saleh said his throws have "good velocity" on them and that's to be expected of the former No. 1 overall pick. Other areas of his game need to improve in 2026, and dropping some pounds may be a step in the right direction. Especially as a runner.
Add us as a preferred source on Google