Titans QB Cam Ward, after a scorching rookie second half, joins Drake Maye as a Topps Chrome Football cover star.
The Tennessee Titans have a special player in quarterback Cam Ward.
His arm talent is off the charts, and he showcased that as a rookie multiple times. One play that comes to mind was the insane throw that he made last season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
With multiple Chiefs' pass rushers bearing down on him, he made a throw towards the sidelines to receiver Chimere Dike to extend the drive. That was just one of the ways he showed off his arm talent last season.
This didn't happen overnight for Ward. It was a little tough for him to adjust to the speed of the NFL at first.
In the first nine weeks, he threw for 1,760 passing yards, five touchdowns, and six interceptions. Then, Ward came into his own in the second half of his rookie season.
In Weeks 10-17, Ward threw for 1,409 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He actually had the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (10) in the NFL during that span.
People are starting to realize Ward's potential, and Topps is one of them.
Per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com, Ward is going to be one of the cover athletes for the Topps Chrome Football trading cards, along with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Ward is going to be a chase card in the set and will have a 1/1 Rookie PREMIERE Patch Autograph as well.
Titans fans will be happy that Ward is featured on Topps, not Madden. Many cover athletes have been affected by the "Madden curse" in the past.
Former Titans quarterback Vince Young and running back Eddie George were on the Madden cover in the past.
Young was on the cover of Madden 2008. He had a good start to his NFL career, making the Pro Bowl and earning AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2006.
Madden 2008 came out in August of 2007, and Young threw for 2,546 passing yards, nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Young was then benched for Kerry Collins in 2008. Jeff Fisher never trusted Young the same after that.
George was on the cover of Madden 2001 and rushed for 1,509 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2000. However, he lost a career-high number of fumbles that season.
Unfortunately, if Ward turns into the player that Titans fans are hoping for, there's a good chance that he could end up on a Madden cover soon. Titans fans will be fine with him being featured in a Topps pack for now.