Former Titans Quarterback Shares Positives in Benching Cam Ward

The Tennessee Titans are in an interesting spot with quarterback Cam Ward. 

He has thrown for 896 passing yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions. It's not good, but it's not bad either. 

It is very underwhelming either way. For a former No. 1 overall pick, Ward has been disappointing so far. 

Ward threw for 170 passing yards and one interception in the 26-3 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday. This followed arguably his best outing of the year against the Baltimore Ravens the week prior. 

Ward had 222 passing yards one touchdown and one interception in the 24-18 loss. The one interception he threw was fully his fault. He eventually locked in and started to form a connection with Carnell Tate throughout the game. 

This is not where people expected Ward to be in his second NFL season. After Sunday's loss to the Texans, people called for Ward to be benched so he could clear his head and regroup. 

Head coach Robert Saleh said that there aren't plans to bench Ward at the moment, so the Titans are going to ride this out. 

Not everyone agrees with Saleh's plan, including a former Titans quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick played for many NFL teams during his career, including a short stint with the Titans in 2013. 

He threw for 2,454 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Titans went 7-9 that season and missed the playoffs. 

Fitzpatrick weighed in on the Ward situation on a recent episode of "Fitz & Whit." Fitzpatrick actually favored the Titans benching Ward for a few games. 

"I think the best thing for his development is to put him on the bench," Fitzpatrick said. "I think he should be benched for the next few games. I really do. And why? Guess what? I've been in this situation plenty. It's going to provide him a different perspective. He's going to be able to take a step back. He's going to get to watch somebody else operate an offense." 

Benching Ward would mean that the Titans would use Mitchell Trubisky in his place. Trubisky has been in the NFL for 10 years. He knows what it's like to be a starter and a backup in this league. 

Fitzpatrick further explained how benching Ward would let him focus on the fundamentals and what made him an exciting quarterback prospect coming out of college. 

"You're going to be able to pull back, but it's also going to give you some time to work on yourself," Fitzpatrick said. "The physical part of it. Like, maybe he's got some ailments. He gets to heal up, but all those fundamentals and all those things that he is struggling with right now. Really hone your craft and practice and work on some of those things. It's the mental part of it being able to sit down with a coach and watch everything that's happened in these first few weeks of the season." 

So far, the Titans are sticking with Ward. Trubisky is available if Saleh ever changes his mind. 

It's been a frustrating journey with Ward so far. One game looks lost and then the next he looks like he's finally starting to figure it out before making a costly mistake. 

It's good that the Titans have Trubisky in their back pocket if they ever want to take Fitzpatrick's advice and sit Ward down for a few games and go from there. 

Take it from a 17-year NFL veteran like Fitzpatrick. Benching a starting quarterback isn't always the worst thing in the world. 

In certain cases, it can be really beneficial. The Carolina Panthers did the same thing with Bryce Young a few years ago, and now he's off to a good start, throwing for 1,268 passing yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions through four games. 

For now, the Titans are riding with Ward. Maybe they should take Fitzpatrick's advice if things get worse.