In terms of honoring former players, retiring a number is supposed to be one step below building a statue. It is almost impossible for a rookie to come in and deserve the right to wear one of those retired numbers, and the same would typically go for the Tennessee Titans and No. 1 overall quarterback Cam Ward.
When it comes to the No. 1 jersey number in Houston Oilers/Titans history, that number belongs to franchise legend Warren Moon. Whether he played his home games in Houston, Memphis, or Mars, Moon's number was rightfully retired by the organization in 2006. As one of the greatest players in franchise history, he's earned the right to decide whether his number stays retired or not.
Ward wore No. 1 in college and he's expressed interest in continuing that tradition in the pros. It's a touchy subject. Unretiring jersey numbers isn't totally uncommon. The New York Giants literally did it last year. If Moon doesn't mind sharing his number, Ward is the perfect player to carry on Moon's legacy.
For decades, the Titans have built their offense around running the football with the occasional splash of passing whenever they had to. Quarterbacks have been an afterthought, with their job description being essentially, "Keep the chains moving and don't turn the ball over before you get a chance to hand the ball off to Eddie George/Chris Johnson/Derrick Henry again."
That isn't who Ward is. The new Titans quarterback has the record for most career touchdown passes at the college level with 158 (!), and he threw the ball more than 2,000 times over the last four years. The Titans are going to let him throw the ball more than any quarterback in recent memory, and that feels new.
Those numbers are very similar to what Moon did with the franchise, where he averaged more than 450 passes per season, including a two-year stretch where he attempted 1,240 passes. Moon operated the now infamous "Run N' Shoot" offense.
By drafting Ward, the Titans are escaping the boring run-heavy offense they have been stuck with for decades. This is the rebirth of the gunslinger quarterback for this franchise, and what better way to recognize that shift back to fun football than with the resurrection of someone wearing the No. 1 jersey overseeing the offense?
Ironically, Ward grew up in West Columbia, Texas, approximately 45 minutes from where Moon once played home games at the Astrodome, as pointed out by Mike Herndon.
Ward wearing No. 1 would represent the ultimate passing of the torch, uniting the best quarterback from the Oilers era with the player the Titans organization hopes will be the best quarterback in the Titans era.
Moon should get to make the final decision.