On Monday, the Titans sent a massive contingent to Miami for the Cam Ward Pro Day workout. On Tuesday, however, they were beating the bushes for a potentially better trade offer.
This was the tweet from ESPN's Adam Schefter: "The Titans have become increasingly impressed with Ward and, while they are expected to listen to offers for the No. 1 overall pick, it now would take an even stronger package to acquire the draft’s top selection."
Why is the door even open to a possible trade? If they think Ward is the guy, they need to make it clear to anyone who might call that there won't be a trade.
That's what the Bengals did five years ago with Joe Burrow. The Dolphins were obsessed with trading up to get Burrow. The Bengals refused to even listen.
Of course, we argued at the time that the Bengals should listen. That they should be willing to consider what else they could get for the pick, because it wasn't 100-percent certain that they'd be getting a franchise quarterback in Burrow.
But the Bengals were sold on Burrow. And the Titans apparently are sold on Ward. If they were as sold on Ward as the Bengals were sold on Burrow, they'd be refusing to listen.
The concern comes from the lack of subtlety. It's one thing for the Titans to conclude privately that the price for the first pick has gone up. It's another thing for the information to be presented in a way that feels like a deliberate leak. That feels like an effort to get a better trade package, not so that they can reject it but so that they can accept it. That feels like they're hoping someone will make them an offer they can't refuse.
There's also a chance that the Titans are building a mystery as a favor to the league, which strongly prefers that no one knows anything about which players will be picked and when. So even if it's clear that Ward will be the first player taken, the possibility that the Commissioner will announce at 8:15 p.m. ET or so on April 24 that a trade has been made will encourage maximum viewers to be viewing the draft at that moment.
