By Matthew SchmidtShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberHeading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders were widely viewed as the top two quarterbacks in the class. Clearly, the teams around the league didn't view it that way, as Ward went No.1 overall to the Tennessee Titans while Sanders slipped all the way to the fifth round, where he landed with the Cleveland Browns.
And while Ward started right from the get go in Tennessee, it took Sanders until Week 12 to earn his first start in Cleveland, but it was just in time for a matchup between the two rookie signal-callers this Sunday.
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Ward opened up on his relationship with Sanders in the lead up to the affair, and he made it clear that he doesn't really engage in any type of chatter with Sanders during the regular season when asked if he has kept in touch with the University of Colorado product.
"No, we don't text really during the season," Ward told reporters. "That's more of the offseason."
Ward essentially said that he doesn't have time to communicate with Sanders, as he is knee deep in the playbook trying to improve during his first NFL season.
...The former Miami Hurricanes star has thrown for 2,351 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 59.7 percent of his passes and posting a 75.2 passer rating through 12 games. He has also rushed for 123 yards and a score.
The Titans are just 1-11 this season, so it certainly has not been smooth sailing for Ward, who has been sacked a league-high 48 times behind Tennessee's abysmal offensive line.
It's not like Ward has an abundance of riches at his disposal in the aerial attack, either.
The 23-year-old threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 67.2 percent of his passes at Miami last year. He actually began his collegiate career at Incarnate Word in 2020 and spent two years there before transferring to Washington State in 2022. He spent another two seasons with the Cougars before heading to South Beach.
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Ward is generally considered a top-tier talent with phenomenal tools, so we will see if he can improve before the end of the season and potentially break out in 2026.
As for his dynamic with Sanders? It's pretty clear that Ward is far too focused to even entertain it.
For more on the Tennessee Titans and general NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
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