NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) 鈥� Cam Ward has been sacked 55 times so far this season.
Yet, the has been available for every game and taken every offensive snap during his rookie season for the Tennessee Titans.
On Sunday in Jacksonville, Ward will start his 17th game, giving the Titans the kind of stability at quarterback rarely seen over the past three decades.
How rare?
This will be just the seventh season a quarterback started every game since arrived in Tennessee in 1997.
Only Chicago and Cleveland have had fewer seasons with three each in that span in the NFL. Philadelphia is at seven with Jalen Hurts pushing that to eight if he starts Sunday.
Caleb Williams could make that four by starting with Chicago trying for the NFC’s No. 2 seed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that I don鈥檛 take lightly because every time you step on the field you never know when it could be your last down,鈥� Ward said Wednesday. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 blessed … it鈥檚 God and my O-line that鈥檚 keeping me healthy the entire way and I know they鈥檙e going to keep on doing it.鈥�
Steve McNair started every game for the then-Tennessee Oilers in 1997 and 1998 and again in 2002 for the renamed Titans. Matt Hasselbeck started all 16 games in 2011, and Ryan Tannehill started every game in both 2020 and in 2021 when the NFL expanded to a 17-game regular season.
Ward is the franchise’s first rookie quarterback to throw for at least 3,000 yards in a season. Left guard Peter Skoronski said they all know Ward has taken some hits and called it impressive that the quarterback has been on the field for every offensive snap.
鈥淚n the NFL, availability is critical,鈥� Skoronski said. 鈥淪o to have that, especially at your most important position, I think is huge. It speaks to his toughness, his mentality.鈥�
Ward also has put together four straight games with two touchdown passes and hasn鈥檛 been picked off once in the past three. He now has 15 TDs with seven interceptions for a 1.3% interception rate, which would break Tannehill’s team record of 1.5% in 2020 among qualifying quarterbacks.
The rookie’s 537 pass attempts are second in franchise history only to Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon, who threw 655 in 1991 and 584 in 1990.
Better yet, Ward is why four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons keeps telling people he doesn’t want to leave the Titans.
鈥淚 see the competitive nature, I see the growth as a rookie of Cam,鈥� Simmons said. 鈥淚 can see where he could take this franchise. So, I鈥檓 looking forward to continuing to end the season the right way and we鈥檒l see how next year goes for us.鈥�
New Orleans defensive end Chase Young also sees greatness ahead for Ward.
He sacked and for a touchdown. He also saw Ward just miss converting a fourth-and-10 while falling, flicking the ball to a teammate for a 17-yard completion that was wiped out by replay showing his knee touching the ground first.
鈥淚 ain鈥檛 gonna lie, he鈥檚 got a to him when he鈥檚 out there,” Young said. “Being able to extend plays while still having his eyes down the field. He鈥檚 a phenomenal young quarterback.鈥�
Coaches have raved about Ward’s work ethic since early this offseason. Wide receiver Chimere Dike, selected as a Pro Bowler as a return specialist last week, said Ward wanted to meet at 5 a.m. back in the spring. Dike said getting up that early wasn’t easy. Ward wouldn’t take no for an answer.
鈥淒iscomfort breeds growth,” Dike said of the early sessions. “When you鈥檙e in an uncomfortable situation doing stuff that you don鈥檛 want to do, usually you know you get better from it.鈥�
Ward now has four or five notebooks filled with information learned from playing 11 of the NFL’s 12 stingiest defenses 鈥� two inside the AFC South in (12-4) and Houston.
Titans interim coach Mike McCoy says he’s seen improvement each week from the rookie.
“It鈥檚 only going to make things easier for him moving forward,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 done a great job week after week of learning and understanding what we鈥檙e trying to accomplish. He鈥檚 got a really bright future.鈥�
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writers Andrew Seligman and Dan Gelston contributed to this report.
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