Cam Ward is on "bust watch" just a month into his second NFL season, but it's way too early for Tennessee Titans fans (or really anybody else) to give up on him.
Yes, the Miami alum has been underwhelming so far (60.6 completion percentage, 4,065 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions across 22 career games); he lacks consistent fundamentals and is one of the worst decision-making quarterbacks in the NFL), and he hasn't had many legitimately good games at the NFL level.
But he was also the first pick in the NFL draft just last year. He's only 24 years old (Drake Maye of the New England Patriots is the only current starting quarterback in the league younger than him). He still has raw arm talent. He doesn't have a great supporting cast around him. And all of his problems are fixable.
Ward might never live up to his pre-draft hype, but it's way too early to say that definitively. There is still a lot to like about his potential, and Titans fans just need to see it through.
Cam Ward isn't the Titans' only problem
Sure, Ward hasn't been great since joining the Titans, but virtually nobody on the team has been.
They had one of the worst offensive lines in the league last season (Ward got sacked a league-leading 55 times), and while they have improved this year, it still isn't a particularly strong unit. Their defense has been mediocre at best since the start of last season (and underwhelming under head coach Robert Saleh this season). And outside of maybe Carnell Tate, who has shown some real promise in his rookie season, there aren't many legitimate weapons for Ward to throw to.
Ward definitely deserves some of the blame for Tennessee's lack of success, but it's not entirely his fault that the team has gone 3-19 since he entered the league. He isn't in much of a position to succeed, and it would be tough for just about anybody to live up to the pressure in his situation.
The Titans shouldn't bench Cam Ward
There has been a lot of talk about the Titans benching the Texas native and hoping for a Bryce Young-type of resurgence, but there is something to letting a young quarterback play through their growing pains. It makes it easier to develop and evaluate them, and it allows them to build some chemistry with the rest of the team and iron things out (we're already seeing this with Maye in New England right now; he has greatly turned things around after a poor end to last season and a poor start to this season).
We're not going to act like Ward is going to become an MVP candidate after this week, but there's still a lot to like about his outlook.
He's young. He's talented. And he's still just finding his footing in the NFL. Saleh and the rest of the organization aren't giving up on him, and neither should anybody in the fanbase.
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