NASHVILLE – New Titans head coach Robert Saleh is high on his new quarterback, Cam Ward.
"The kid has immense talent," Saleh said on Thursday.
In order for Ward to succeed in the NFL, Saleh said the Titans are going to have to help Ward, which includes being better around him.
Recently hired offensive coordinator Brian Daboll should be instrumental in helping Ward's development.
"For Cam, the best way to develop a quarterback is to give him a team that doesn't make him feel like he has to be Superman, at least early on," Saleh said. "There is going to be a time as Cam continues to develop where he can put this entire organization on his shoulders, and lead it to a win. But asking that of a young kid I think is unrealistic. So, building a structure for him that doesn't ask him to be Superman 60 plays a game will be at the front of our minds.
"(We have to) make sure that we support him with the proper defense, the proper run game."
Ward finished his rookie season in 2025 completing 323-of-540 passes for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with a passer rating of 80.3. Ward also rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Ward's 540 attempts in 2025 were more than every quarterback in franchise history in a season other than Warren Moon, who had 655 attempts in 1991 and 584 attempts in 1990.
Ward, who started all 17 games for the Titans in 2025, played every snap before suffering a right shoulder injury in the season finale at the Jaguars.
Ward has spent the last few weeks rehabbing, and recovering.
During the course of the offseason Ward will get to know Daboll well.
Saleh thinks the relationship will be key.
Daboll will be entering his 30th year in coaching, and his 26th year in the NFL, with the Titans.
Previously, Daboll has served eight total seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns (2009-10), Miami Dolphins (2011), Kansas City Chiefs (2012) and Buffalo Bills (2018-21).
Daboll served as head coach of the New York Giants from 2022-25.
"Dabs has had a history of developing young quarterbacks in this league and college and the different stops that he's had, and he's touched many from experience to youth," Saleh said. "He has a tremendous amount of experience with tremendous quarterbacks all over. There's a lot of benefits to what he does. As a defensive guy game planning against Dabs, I can tell you that he's always going to strain you both run and pass. He's going to find the run-pass conflicts within your scheme for individual players. He's going to attack the (crap) out of it. He's special in that regard. He's a problem to go against.
"The biggest thing that we're going to work with Cam, just going all the way back to the beginning. We've got a whole offseason to work with him, take him back to the very, very beginning, both on the field, off the field, the process at which—what it looks like to not only be a professional with regards to preparation in his body, but as a professional with regards to preparing from a game-planning standpoint or a playbook standpoint. But, just talking with Dabs over the course of the last few weeks, he is the perfect man to match up with Cam and to maximize who he is. So again, we're really pumped to get to work with Cam and get him to where we all know he can be."
