Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward is on pace to set an unwanted record as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft continues to take sacks at a blistering pace
14:51 ET, 12 Nov 2025
Cam Ward warms up before a game
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Cam Ward leads the NFL in sacks taken this season(Image: Getty Images)
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward may soon etch his name in the history books for all the wrong reasons.
Ward’s first season at the professional level has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster, as the Titans currently find themselves in the basement of the NFL with a 1-8 record.
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After only managing to win one of their first six contests of the 2025 campaign, Tennessee top brass announced that they would be parting ways with head coach Brian Callahan less than 24 hours after he ruthlessly called out the rookie.
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In Callahan’s defense, Ward has hardly looked like the highly-touted prospect who was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Entering Week 11, the Miami product has taken a league-high 38 sacks for 295 yards — thereby putting him on pace for 72 sacks for 557 yards.
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Should Ward continue to hit the turf at the blistering pace he’s currently on, the 23-year-old would surpass Randall Cunningham for the most sack yardage lost in a single season. During the 1986 season, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was sacked 72 times for 489 yards.
Ward is additionally on pace to finish only four sacks behind Houston Texans quarterback David Carr, who holds the NFL record (76) from his rookie season in 2002.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Titans interim head coach Mike McCoy acknowledged that Ward must do a better job of limiting the amount of sacks he’s taking. “The first part is it’s the number of sacks. We’ve taken too many sacks as an offense,” he said.
Cam Ward is sacked by an Indianapolis Colts defender
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Cam Ward is on pace to lose the most sack yardage in NFL history(Image: Getty Images)
“I think at times, too, there’s an opportunity to throw balls away when you’re outside the pocket. You might do certain things or when you’re making plays. And I think that will come with experience of him understanding it.
“When do you dirt balls and do certain thing or when is it better to try to get out of a problem instead of just getting the ball out of your hand?”
Through nine games, Ward is losing on average 7.8 yards per sack while being brought down over four times per game.
The Titans’ offense has subsequently floundered, with Tennessee ranking last in the NFL in third-down conversions (28 percent) and points scored per context (14.4)
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As McCoy noted, however, the blame doesn’t fall squarely on Ward’s shoulders. “So, I think it’s [a] combination,” he explained. “I mean, you’d have to look at every play to say, ‘This is why.’ If you looked at the film I have, I’ve got a breakdown of this is why sacks happen.
“Is it on the quarterback? Is it offensive linemen? Is it a running back? Did something happen with the receiver that caused Cam to hold the ball long?
"So there’s a number of things that come into play. But you obviously want to minimize the yardage you lose.”