Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward suffered a shoulder injury on the first offensive possession of Sunday's Week 18 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ward was injured on a 7-yard touchdown run. Jaguars linebacker Foyesade Oluokun landed with his full body weight on the rookie signal-caller's shoulder.
Ward was in visible pain. He quickly retreated to the Titans' locker room for additional medical attention. He returned to the sideline wearing a sling over his shoulder and was replaced by Brandon Allen at quarterback.
The initial national report arrived from The Athletic's Jeff Howe, who claimed Ward suffered a grade three sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Ian Rapoport came through with a confirmed report on Monday afternoon. Ward avoided the worst according to the NFL Network.
Report: Titans QB Cam Ward avoids worst-case scenario with shoulder injury
Medical examinations revealed an AC joint sprain in Ward's shoulder, per Rapoport. The key here is that Ward will not require surgery. That really qualifies as the best-case scenario.
As soon as Ward's injury was revealed to be an AC joint sprain, the immediate question was regarding whether or not he'd require surgery. Most shoulder injuries with this designation don't require surgery. They typically carry a 4-12 week return plan. That gives Ward plenty of time to heal throughout the offseason.
Had Ward required surgery, his recovery timeline would have extended to four-to-six months. Current Titans quarterback Will Levis, and Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson, underwent surgery for similar ailments. They faced much lengthier timelines.
Levis and Richardson were also operating under different timelines, possibly with ulterior motives. Surgery tends to guarantee a safer long-term outlook, even if not required. Considering Levis and Richardson are looking for new NFL homes, they potentially made decisions in their own best interest.
The majority of AC joint sprain injuries do not require surgery. Ward should possess plenty of time to rest and heal before getting back to throwing this offseason while improving his mechanics. The Titans avoided the worst-case scenario with Ward's shoulder injury.