{"id":252048,"date":"2025-08-01T01:15:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/252048\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T01:15:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:15:12","slug":"titans-cam-ward-credits-early-morning-work-ethic-to-core-childhood-lesson-on-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/252048\/","title":{"rendered":"Titans’ Cam Ward credits early morning work ethic to core childhood lesson on perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tennessee Titans are handing the keys to Cam Ward, the first overall pick in April\u2019s draft. However, he hasn\u2019t exactly been the most celebrated No. 1 pick in NFL history. Since the beginning, Ward has flown under the radar more than most top selections.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s the least talked about, under-the-radar No. 1 pick I think in the history of football… Let’s go back to last year’s draft. He would’ve been in the mix… I think he would’ve been my 3rd QB,\u201d analyst Chris Simms said.<\/p>\n

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Ward has been working hard in training camp, often arriving at the facility as early as 5 a.m. Despite his commitment and quiet work ethic, Ward admits he still doesn\u2019t feel fully embraced by the NFL community.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m being welcomed in [the league] with open arms,\u201d Ward said. \u201cI was the first pick. I\u2019m blessed to be that. But at the end of the day, there\u2019s a target on my back. There\u2019s a target on everyone\u2019s back in the league, but I\u2019m trying to prove myself to my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward was recently given a 71 overall rating in Madden\u2014something that sparked outrage from former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCam Ward is the most disrespected QB #1 overall Pick EVER,\u201d Griffin wrote. \u201cI know it\u2019s just a Madden Ranking, but Cam Ward having a 71 rating and not even being a top 10 rated rookie in the game as the 1st Pick in the NFL draft and the lack of national media coverage of him solidifies it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Thursday, Ward opened up about why he arrives at the facility so early.\u2014a reason rooted in family and perspective.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve grown up watching my dad wake up at 4:30 doing the job he didn\u2019t like, so if I can\u2019t wake up early and do what I need to do, I shouldn\u2019t be playing football,\u201d Ward said.<\/p>\n

Ward\u2019s words show that he\u2019s internalized the lessons from his upbringing. What he saw as a child has shaped his professional mindset and work ethic, forming a foundation he now brings to his career as an NFL quarterback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tennessee Titans are handing the keys to Cam Ward, the first overall pick in April\u2019s draft. However,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2061],"tags":[127,5744,7,6,1243,526,394,2411,527],"class_list":{"0":"post-252048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennessee-titans","8":"tag-cam-ward","9":"tag-chris-simms","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-robert-griffin","13":"tag-tennessee","14":"tag-tennessee-titans","15":"tag-tennesseetitans","16":"tag-titans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114950866559535678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}