Tennessee Titans fans had made piece with the 2025 season being another disastrous year, but Week 18 still brought a nightmare. Early in the blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, rookie quarterback Cam Ward dove into the end zone for a rushing touchdown, and injured his throwing shoulder on the play. The rookie returned to the sideline in a sling, and it was hard not to think of all the worst-possible outcomes.
Fortunately, a day later, Ward is leaving the fans with good news heading into the offseason. The quarterback’s injury has been announced as an AC Joint sprain, that won’t need surgery. While the promising thrower will still have to rehab during the early part of his offseason, he revealed on Monday that the injury won’t affect his timetable for working on his mechanics.
Shoulder doesn’t change Cam Ward’s timetable for working on mechanics. #Titans pic.twitter.com/QTEUBuVJrh
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) January 5, 2026
Cam Ward says shoulder injury won’t affect his offseason timetable for working on mechanics
Ward, who wasn’t in the sling on Monday, emphasized that the bulk of his mechanical work will be focused on his base, so his shoulder won’t prevent him from getting to work on that. With surgery not needed, the quarterback isn’t expected to face any limitations that will cut into football time. An exact timeline hasn’t been revealed publicly, but the hope is that Ward should be healthy and ready to improve sooner rather than later.
Of course, the most important thing is that Ward actually gets healthy, and this doesn’t become an issue that impacts him on the field, or lingers throughout his career. He has already proven to be a promising quarterback, completing 59.8% of his passes for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, while also adding 159 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The next step is continuing to develop, while the team continues to build around him. The Titans will now begin an important coaching search, as they hope to find a head coach who can get the team turned around, while also getting the most out of a talented Cam Ward. Tennessee also has a lot of work to do on its roster. While the franchise handles those things, Ward will work to get back to 100%.