The anointing of a new king is rarely accompanied by a gentle fade to black for the old guard, as The Titans announced their seven team captains for the 2025 season, and leading the list was a name that signifies a bold new era: rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward.

He’s joined by a cadre of veterans—Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard, Jeffery Simmons, Amani Hooker, Cody Barton, and Morgan Cox. But it’s Ward’s inclusion that crackles with meaning. He is the first Titan rookie to earn this honor since Marcus Mariota in 2015, a fact that speaks volumes. And in the wake of this decision, the shadow of former hopeful Will Levis fades.

The announcement was reported by Adam Schefter, who posted “Titans announced that rookie No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward is one of seven team captains this season.” This honor, voted on by his teammates, confirms what Head Coach Brian Callahan has been quietly observing all preseason. It’s a belief built on Ward’s legendary college resume—a Division I record 158 career passing TDs and over 18,189 passing yards across Incarnate Word, Washington State, and Miami, where his Heisman-finalist 2024 season saw him throw for 4,313 yards and 39 TDs.

That pedigree, coupled with Ward’s command of the huddle, his pre-snap poise, and his ‘flexible and creative’ throwing motion’ and ability to create off-platform throws that had Callahan noting pre-draft that “He has the, what I would call, a natural ability to feel space … he’s an incredibly quick processor. have translated from college highlight reels to tangible NFL leadership. His preseason progression—145 yards on 10-of-19 passing in limited action.

Though Callahan cautioned that “He has great physical tools on top of it… His release is one of the quickest releases I’ve seen and he’s incredibly accurate,” his progression has been undeniable, culminating in the ultimate gesture of trust from the men who will line up beside him. This new reality, however, casts a long shadow over the previous tenant of the quarterback room, Levis.

A bittersweet passing of the torch to Ward

Just a year ago, Levis was the heir apparent tasked with steering the ship. Now, after a difficult 3-14 season where he threw for 2,091 yards with 13 TDs and 12 INTs, and a subsequent right shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery, he finds himself on the outside looking in.

His frustration was palpable earlier this offseason. “I think anyone who’s ever been in my situation can agree that it sucks,” Levis told reporters. To his immense credit, he channeled that frustration into professionalism, adding, “I’m just trying to do the best I can to not let it affect me. Just being the same dude every day in the building and being there for the guys however I can.”

Ward acknowledged the awkwardness of the situation and Levis’s class in navigating it, revealing, “He was one of the first ones to come up to me. It’s been exciting to work with somebody who has played in an actual NFL football game.” It’s a poignant passing of the torch. With Levis sidelined for the year, Callahan’s mind is inevitably, and rightly, focused on the quarterback who is present, the one his team has chosen to follow.

Naming Ward a captain before he’s taken his first regular-season snap is the ultimate testament to his intangible impact. It’s the organization shouting its belief in him. For Callahan, the ciphering is simple: you invest your energy and your hopes in the leader your locker room has embraced. The future is wearing a captain’s patch. And as the Titans march toward their Week 1 showdown in Denver, Levis, for all his grit and grace, is slowly fading from the forefront of the coach’s mind, a bittersweet but necessary evolution in the relentless pursuit of victory.