The Tennessee Titans got through the preseason with a 2-1 record, but the mood around the team has been anything but calm. What usually serves as a tune-up stretch has instead left fans and media circling the same questions heading into Week 1.
At the center of it all is Cam Ward. The second-year quarterback was one of the biggest talking points of the Titans’ 2026 offseason, with plenty of buzz about what he might look like with new weapons and Brian Daboll running the offense. But the preseason didn’t do much to settle nerves.
Ward’s first action came against the San Francisco 49ers, and it was rough. He looked out of sync in Daboll’s system, rushed his processing and mechanics, missed throws that should have been easy completions, and finished 5-12 passing. He also picked up a bad intentional grounding penalty, a reminder of the ball-security issues that showed up early in his rookie year.
His second preseason outing against the Seattle Seahawks was a little better, but not enough to erase the concern. Ward still missed on a couple throws and nearly lost a fumble while scrambling. By the end of the preseason, his 29.1 Pro Football Focus grade ranked dead last among qualified quarterbacks.
None of that guarantees trouble once the games count, of course. Preseason results rarely carry over cleanly, and Ward is still adjusting to a new offense and new receivers. Even so, if he wants to quiet the noise after a shaky preseason and an underwhelming rookie season, he may need to settle in faster than most.
The defense, meanwhile, didn’t exactly make life easier. After Robert Saleh was hired in January, Tennessee spent the offseason reshaping the unit in his image. The additions included John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson II, Alontae Taylor and Cordale Flott in free agency, plus draft picks Keldric Faulk and Anthony Hill Jr.
But once the preseason games started, the optimism took a hit. Against backup-heavy offenses from the 49ers and Seahawks, the Titans’ front had trouble creating pressure on Kurtis Rourke and Drew Lock, and both quarterbacks found ways to keep the chains moving against Tennessee’s starting secondary. The Seahawks game got worse on the ground, too, with the Titans surrendering a 69-yard rushing touchdown to Jacardia Wright.
The criticism wasn’t limited to fringe names. Flott and Cody Barton drew plenty of heat, and Jeffery Simmons also had a quiet preseason against second- and third-string competition.
Like the offense, the defense is still learning a new system and getting used to a lot of new faces. Still, with Saleh’s group looking this shaky early, the Titans need stops in a hurry once the regular season opens.
Not everything was gloomy, though. Rookie right guard Fernando Carmona emerged as one of the preseason’s clearest bright spots.
Carmona, a fifth-round pick from Arkansas in April, arrived with plenty of skepticism. He was the 248th player on the consensus big board and wasn’t nearly as recognizable as some of the other linemen still on the board. His most notable moment before arriving in Tennessee was getting caught on video stomping on an opposing player’s ankle during the 2024 Liberty Bowl.
He entered camp battling for the starting right guard job, though most of the attention was on Cordell Volson, the 2026 free agent addition. Volson struggled through the summer and training camp, while Carmona kept stacking good work and slowly closed the gap. Before long, he was lining up with the starters in the first two preseason games.
The results backed it up. Carmona posted the second-highest Pro Football Focus grade among rookies this preseason at 90.5 and allowed just one pressure on 40 pass-blocking snaps. After the preseason ended, Volson was cut and Carmona was named the Titans’ starting right guard for Week 1 against the Jets.
If that level of play carries over, Tennessee may have found something real on an offensive line that didn’t look like it had much promise a few months ago.
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