Quarterback Cam Ward is back on the practice field. So is Will Levis. New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is bringing energy to Tennessee Titans practice in a whole new way, and it’s extremely easy to see the ways his schemes can be transformative for Ward and the oft-anemic Titans offense. Rookies are emerging, slowly in some cases and explosively in others.
Mostly, it’s just time to celebrate getting to the point in the calendar where we can talk about actual football being played. Here are The Tennessean’s observations from Titans OTA practices on May 21.
Cam Ward stats, injury update: Faster offense, faster QB, new partner in crime
Let’s start with the best news: Ward’s shoulder injury felt like a total non-factor. The ball came out of his hand with as much zip and as much conviction as it has in the past. He wasn’t sporting a visible brace and didn’t give any indication that he was on a pitch count. A healthy Ward is the most important thing the Titans could ask for, and it appears as if they have one.
So now the specifics: Ward was 11-for-17 passing with two touchdowns across team periods and 7-on-7 drills. He looked the most like himself during a practice-ending hurry-up period where he marched the offense downfield with in six plays with less than a minute on the clock. He punctuated the series with a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Carnell Tate ― his second of the day ― and had his biggest gainer on a completion to Tate up the seam where Tate found a tiny crease in tight coverage and strode his way into the red zone.
Ward looks visibly leaner. He says he’s lost 10 pounds this offseason, upping his cardio work and changing his diet. That’s important, but the relationship with Daboll paying early dividends is probably more so. Ward said he appreciates how direct and simple Daboll makes the play calls, and said Daboll’s scheme is built around “faster plays” that allow him to control his actions more, anticipate plays and see angles more clearly.
So much of the talk throughout Ward’s rookie season was about how former coaches Brian Callahan and Mike McCoy wanted Ward to take what defenses gave him and play within the confines of a system. It’s not as if that’s not still the case in Daboll’s system. But quotes like these point toward a system more designed around forcing the defense to give the offense what it wants rather than letting the defense dictate everything. It’s a small distinction, but a potentially massive one when it comes to leaning into Ward’s strengths.
Will Levis update: He’s back … and something’s different
This practice was the first time local media had seen Levis throw since minicamp 2025. He wasn’t made available to speak afterwards, so it’ll still be a little bit of time before Levis tells his side of the story about what the last year’s been like since he elected for season-ending shoulder surgery. For now, we can go off observation, and the main one is Levis’ arm isn’t the brute-force instrument it used to be.
Levis is throwing with more touch. A lot more touch. There’s wobble in his spirals where there used to be wind whooshes. He’s lofting and layering throws over coverage and it paid off more than once, highlighted by a 7-on-7 touchdown pass to receiver Lance McCutcheon over multiple defenders.
This isn’t to paint Levis as fully “rewired,” to use his old phrase. He still made a couple of mistakes, including a bobble on a shotgun snap that led to a sack and an interception in the two-minute drill. But he too looks slimmer, muscled less like a comic book hero and more like a quarterback. It’ll be interesting to see how this version of Levis makes it through camp with Ward entrenched as starter and with veteran Mitchell Trubisky brought in as a more-than-capable backup.
Stray observations: Titans rookies, position battles and player absences
Here’s what else caught The Tennessean’s eye:
- Rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., intercepted a pass out of the hand of quarterback Hendon Hooker. Hooker appeared to make a not-so-great read, but Hill still looked plenty athletic leaping to pluck the ball from the air. Between him and Tate, not a bad day for Titans rookies.
- Center Austin Schlottmann has the early lead in the competition up front. Guard Peter Skoronski gave a quick answer as to why that is, pointing out that Schlottmann’s familiarity from playing under Daboll with the New York Giants puts him ahead of rookies and veterans alike in knowing the scheme and positions him as a big resource for younger players learning the system.
- One intriguing drill: Receivers coach Greg Lewis subjected his pass catchers to a shoestring catching drill where they had to try sprint toward a JUGS machine and catch passes aimed at their feet while continuing to move forward. Way, way tougher than it sounds. Everyone struggled, even the most sure-handed players. It’s interesting to see new ways new regimes challenge players, and this is the first of what figure to be several examples.
- OTAs are voluntary, and new coach Robert Saleh said practice was particularly sparse this week with several players skipping out for family functions and graduation ceremonies on the holiday weekend. Here’s a list of notable players The Tennessean didn’t spot: WR Calvin Ridley, OLB Jermaine Johnson II, CB Cor’Dale Flott, OT Dan Moore Jr., DL John Franklin-Myers, DT Jeffery Simmons.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans practice observations, starting with Cam Ward growth in brand new scheme