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New Tennessee Titans pass catchers Chimere Dike, Gunnar Helm and Elic Ayomanor all got calls or texts from No. 1 pick Cam Ward within seconds of being selected on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft, in some cases while the players were still on the phone with Titans brass delivering them the news.
Bashfully, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi admits how that was possible.
"Yeah, he was actually texting me," Borgonzi said at the Titans' post-draft press conference. "He’s on it pretty quick."
MORE ON WARD: Don't believe Cam Ward will be Tennessee Titans' hero? This is how he'll prove you wrong
Ward's natural leadership traits are a big reason why the Titans selected him first overall. Teammates and coaches from Ward's high school and college days rave about Ward's skills in that area, and now Borgonzi, Titans coach Brian Callahan and Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker are doing the same.
Borgonzi says gestures like Ward reaching out to Ayomanor, Dike and Helm illustrate why people gravitate toward him. This behavior isn't exactly unique, of course. Barely a year before, Titans QB Will Levis was reaching out to new teammates on draft night via social media.
But the feeling Borgonzi gets is that Ward, as a rookie, is doing what he can to start proving himself to his teammates and showing what type of leader he is. He's finding teammates rather than making them find him.
"He’s got great awareness in terms of where he’s at," Borgonzi says. "He knows stepping into an NFL locker room he’s going to have to earn the respect of every guy in that locker room. First building relationships with everyone on the team is a big part of it. But that’s one of the special things about him that we kind of learned throughout the process is he has great awareness. I think he knows he has to earn the respect of everyone here."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Cam Ward got in touch with new Titans teammates so dang fast
Continue reading...
Bashfully, Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi admits how that was possible.
"Yeah, he was actually texting me," Borgonzi said at the Titans' post-draft press conference. "He’s on it pretty quick."
MORE ON WARD: Don't believe Cam Ward will be Tennessee Titans' hero? This is how he'll prove you wrong
Ward's natural leadership traits are a big reason why the Titans selected him first overall. Teammates and coaches from Ward's high school and college days rave about Ward's skills in that area, and now Borgonzi, Titans coach Brian Callahan and Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker are doing the same.
Borgonzi says gestures like Ward reaching out to Ayomanor, Dike and Helm illustrate why people gravitate toward him. This behavior isn't exactly unique, of course. Barely a year before, Titans QB Will Levis was reaching out to new teammates on draft night via social media.
But the feeling Borgonzi gets is that Ward, as a rookie, is doing what he can to start proving himself to his teammates and showing what type of leader he is. He's finding teammates rather than making them find him.
"He’s got great awareness in terms of where he’s at," Borgonzi says. "He knows stepping into an NFL locker room he’s going to have to earn the respect of every guy in that locker room. First building relationships with everyone on the team is a big part of it. But that’s one of the special things about him that we kind of learned throughout the process is he has great awareness. I think he knows he has to earn the respect of everyone here."
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Cam Ward got in touch with new Titans teammates so dang fast
Continue reading...
