NASHVILLE – The Titans kicked off 2026 training camp on Wednesday.
Here's a look at 10 observations from Day 1:
-Quarterback Cam Ward got off to a nice start. He wasn't perfect, but he was mostly accurate and looked poised. Ward completed his first five passes in Wednesday's session, and he finished the day 11-of-16 with a pair of touchdown passes. Ward was just 3-of-8 in a red zone period, but he threw the two TD passes in the period, including one across the middle to receiver Elic Ayomanor. Ward also looks leaner, and better, physically than he was at the start of his rookie season.
-Receiver Carnell Tate picked up where he left off this offseason, catching a practice-best three passes, including a touchdown pass from Ward. Tate went up high to catch the TD pass over safety Kevin Winston Jr. and cornerback Marcus Harris. Tate ran toward Ward and the two celebrated midair.
-Things didn't start out great on Wednesday. Tight end Daniel Bellinger and tackle Austin Deculus were whistled for false starts on the first two plays of the initial team period. After practice, Ward took the blame for the false starts, saying he didn't communicate as well as he should have with his teammates. But this was clearly a situation where everyone needs to be better.
-Xavier Restrepo made one of the plays of the day, and it provided a little comic relief. On a play from the four-yard line, Restrepo caught a pass from quarterback Will Levis and angled his way toward the end zone. Restrepo extended the football toward the goal-line, and the ball crossed the plane. The nearby official, who didn't have a great angle, raced to the scene but said "I have no idea" while offensive players pleaded for the touchdown signal. I happened to be standing right at the goal line – it was a TD.
-With Mitchell Trubisky not practicing because of tightness, Levis and Hendon Hooker got the rest of the reps. I charted Levis at 9-of-16 on the day, with an interception. In addition to the touchdown pass to Restrepo, Levis also connected with tight end Joel Wilson for a score. Hooker went 5-of-6 in the day, his only incompletion a drop.
-Defensive end Femi Oladejo missed time during the offseason, but he was back on the field on Wednesday and looked even bigger than I remembered him. Oladejo is a physical specimen, a player the Titans plan to develop over time. There's no doubt he already looks the part.
-Safety Sanoussi Kane had the only interception of the day, picking off Levis on a ball intended for Restrepo. I also had defensive end Malik Herring with a sack. Winston had a nice PBU on a Ward pass intended for tight end Gunnar Helm, and Jerrick Reed had a PBU as well.
-Calvin Ridley was at practice, in uniform, but is being held back because of a stomach bug. Right tackle JC Latham was also out there in uniform, but he remains on the team's Physically Unable to Perform list, and day to day.
-Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons talked after practice about being in great shape, and ready to go. Simmons didn't do much during OTAs and the offseason minicamp, but he looked like a menace from the start on Wednesday, chasing down running back Tyjae Spears on an early screen pass.
-Behind Tate's three grabs, Chimere Dike, Jaren Kanak, Wan'Dale Robinson, Gunnar Helm, Joel Wilson, Kylen Granson and Xavier Restrepo all had two grabs each.
