The Titans had a private workout with Miami quarterback Cam Ward. They won't be having a private workout with Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Via Jim Wyatt of the team's official website, the Titans and Sanders mutually agreed to cancel the private workout after Friday's Pro Day.
"The Titans have seen 4 years of game film, scouted multiple games, and now attended a Pro Day they described as very impressive," Wyatt said.
Still, a private workout provides insight that can't be obtained through watching film, attending games, and/or witnessing a scripted Pro Day workout. And they happen without anyone knowing what was said or done to make the team more, or less, inclined to take the player.
Regardless of the spin that the team will put on the move, the decision sends a message that the Titans won't be picking Sanders.
And that's where the 3D chess of draft strategy becomes potentially relevant. If the Titans trade out of the first overall pick with a team that wants to spring up and pick Ward, the Titans would still need a quarterback. And so, as they willingly take a later place in line, they'd have a blinking red light regarding the possibility of picking Sanders. Which would make them a prime candidate to be leapfrogged by another team that thinks their Plan B would be Shedeur.
Alternatively, it could be as simple as the Titans knowing they want Ward. Or it might have happened because Sanders or someone close to him (like his father, Deion) asking the Titans whether there's any chance the Titans would take Shedeur over Ward — and the Titans failing to persuade Sanders or someone close to him (like his father, Deion) — that there's a chance they'd take Shedeur over Ward.
However it happened, the move will be widely viewed as a message that the Titans don't plan to draft Sanders. Which could become very relevant if/when they trade out of the top pick and Sanders is slipping toward wherever the Titans will be picking post-trade.
