QB Cam Ward and the Titans showing growing pains now that pads are on in training camp

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cam Ward has thrown some very nice passes in his first full week of NFL training camp with the Tennessee Titans.

With the Titans in pads back-to-back days, there've been interceptions, tipped balls and dropped passes.

Or as the rookie graded the offensive performance: “Very mid.”

The No. 1 overall draft pick said Wednesday it all starts with him.

“I just don’t think we’re at where we need to be,” Ward said. "But we got a little bit of time. So every day we get better as a whole.”

Ward and the Titans have a week to work on improving and cleaning up their issues before a joint practice Aug. 7 on the road against Tampa Bay. Ward was picked off three times Tuesday, then he had a ball tipped by linebacker Cody Barton and intercepted by cornerback Roger McCreary on Wednesday.

The rookie quarterback connected with wide receiver Calvin Ridley with a nice deep ball earlier in Wednesday's practice. He also hit Jha'Quan Jackson in the hands on another deep throw that was dropped.

After plays, Ward often can be seen talking with his receivers. He also spends time after each practice working to perfect plays that didn't work in practice.

Ward said that's what quarterbacks should do to make sure receivers know what he's seeing and they understand what he's doing.

He spent time talking with veterans Tyler Lockett and Ridley during Wednesday's practice.

“Lockett, he’s a vet in the league,” Ward said. “He’s one of the best route runners at the slot position, always been productive in every stop he had. So we got to learn just where I’m going to put the ball.”

Titans coach Brian Callahan isn't worried about Ward bouncing back from a rough practice. It's one of the many reasons Tennessee drafted Ward out of Miami.

“It’s just sort of how he’s wired,” Callahan said. “Everything about his mental makeup and how he operates when he makes mistakes is everything you’d want to see from a coaching perspective.”

One early issue has been balls getting tipped, especially when Ward throws sidearm. The rookie said he's been throwing sidearm since he was 6 and had those passes tipped during high school and college. He expects more of the same in the NFL.

“I’m not real worried about that," Ward said. "It’s ball. How you bounce back the next play. You just got to keep on stacking good points on top of each other.”

That even-keel demeanor is what his teammates like about their quarterback. Tight end Chig Okonkwo said Ward has been composed since his first day with the Titans, always ready to go.

“I don’t think anything phases him," Okonkwo said. "It’s just every day is the same with him.”

Callahan said he texted back and forth with Will Levis after the quarterback's surgery Tuesday for his injured right shoulder. The Titans coach said Levis: “seemed in good spirits, and it sounds like everything went well.” ... Ridley went inside with a trainer after coming up limping a bit with his right lower leg. The Titans said he was being evaluated.

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward speaks during a news conference after practice at the team's NFL football training camp Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tyler Lockett (4) makes a catch during practice at the team's NFL football training camp Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley (0) makes a catch during practice at the team's NFL football training camp Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) looks to throw a pass during practice at the team's NFL football training camp Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward speaks during a news conference after practice at the team's NFL football training camp Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)