Before the 2025 season began, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders were primed to go number 1 and 2 in the NFL Draft. Fans figured it would set the stage for a great rivalry. Both draft hopefuls even traded friendly jabs before draft day during a practice session, acting competitive for the cameras. However, while Ward held up his end of the bargain by going number one overall, Shedeur slid to the fifth round.
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That slide wasn’t at all what Sanders, Ward, or the fans were expecting. Still, after a long and winding road, Sanders has worked his way into the QB1 role for the Cleveland Browns. Today, he will renew his rivalry with Ward, who has been starting for the Titans from the beginning of the season, when Cleveland takes on Tennessee.
Ward was recently asked about this, but he went on to downplay the rivalry, talking up Shedeur and himself in the process.
“I think both of us will just be great quarterbacks when it’s all said and done,” Ward shared with the media.
“I just think both of us have the ability to learn different offenses, different aspects of football, how you have to see the game. And I just think the things that we can do inside the building to help bring people together, I think that’s the best thing about both of us.”
The two have had to learn a lot in their rookie seasons, and most of those lessons have been reality checks on how hard it is to survive in the NFL. After all, Shedeur started the season as the Browns’ QB4 on the depth chart. Meanwhile, Ward has only thrown 7 TDs in 12 games, leading Tennessee to a 1-11 record.
However, Ward isn’t worried about the early-career struggles and believes that he and Shedeur will both have great careers by the time they hang up the cleats.
“There’s going to be haters, whether you play good or whether you play bad. We both know that,” Ward continued. “At the end of the day, it’s really about what we have to do individually and what we have to do for the building to put everyone in the best situation.”
Ward sounded like someone who isn’t too worried about losing his job in Tennessee. And he shouldn’t be. The Titans selected him number one overall, and even though he hasn’t flashed much, that level of investment will undoubtedly earn him at least one more season as the starter.
Shedeur, on the other hand, is fighting for his football life at the moment. Analysts have already professed that it’s a make-or-break game for him today, and they wouldn’t be surprised to see the Browns go back to Dillon Gabriel should he lose the outing. A harsh prediction for a rookie making his third career start on a 3-9 team.
All in all, Ward could be right one day, but we have a long way to go before we get there, and both QBs need to show us more. They have flashed absurd athleticism at times, making throws that struggling QBs shouldn’t be able to make. Yet it comes with throws that QBs should never consider, along with boneheaded mistakes that drive coaches crazy.
Combined, Shedeur and Ward are 2-12 to start their careers. And while that may be more of a product of the teams they’re on than themselves, they haven’t done much to stand out or make a real difference. We’ll see if that changes today when they play each other.
