Cam Ward is all but a lock to be the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. And he’d prefer to keep wearing a No. 1 jersey once he takes the NFL stage. In the meantime, franchise great Warren Moon is still deciding whether he’d allow Ward to use that number, which has been retired since 2006.
“I’m thinking about it,” Moon said, via Paul Kuharsky.com, adding that he needs more time to consider the possibility.
Moon famously wore No. 1 while leading the Houston Oilers from 1984-1993, before the club rebranded as the Titans in 1999. A nine-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL with 33 passing touchdowns as Offensive Player of the Year in 1990, he later became the first African-American quarterback to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Now 68, Moon still holds most of the Titans’ all-time passing records.
Ward, on the other hand, revealed in a recent TikTok interview he’s “hoping to stay” with the No. 1 he’s worn since 2022, when he transferred from Incarnate Word to Washington State; he also wore No. 1 at Miami in 2024.
The soon-to-be rookie quarterback also hinted he’d be open to wearing another number, depending on his destination and which digits are available. Ward notably wore No. 7 to start his college career, as well as at Columbia High School in Texas. That number isn’t currently assigned to anyone on the Titans’ 2025 roster.
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If Moon were to allow Ward to wear No. 1 in Tennessee, it wouldn’t be the first time a retired number has been reissued in the NFL. Just last year, the New York Giants permitted first-round draft pick Malik Nabers to wear No. 1 after receiving clearance from the family of the late Ray Flaherty, who wore the number from 1932-1935.