The Tennessee Titans finally answered all of the questions about quarterback Cam Ward's future jersey number with the team. Ward is officially going to wear No. 1, which was previously retired for legendary quarterback Warren Moon.
Ward's introductory press conference on Friday afternoon took a surprise twist when Moon showed up to present Ward with the jersey number himself.
Over a month ago, Ward made a phone call to Moon asking for his permission to wear No. 1 with the Titans. It's a call that Moon says "took him back a little bit." He had originally responded by asking for time to think. He told the media on Friday that he decided “about a day and a half ago” that he was going to give Ward his blessing.
A big factor in Moon’s decision was the fact that Ward will be wearing a Titans uniform instead of an Oilers uniform. While it’s the same organization and the same history, it is a different city, different logo, and different jersey.
Moon said that if it was the same team name and jersey, he would not have allowed anyone to wear it. "When I started thinking about the fact that it wasn't just the jersey that I wore when I played, that made it a little bit easier," Moon said on Friday.
Ward's situation is also a unique and special one. Titans players have asked about wearing No. 1 in the past and the Moon has always turned it down. But not only is Ward a quarterback, he's a quarterback that played college football in the state of Washington. He's a quarterback that has been on Moon's radar for quite some time.
Oilers uniforms may never be back
One of the fallouts of Ward being in jersey No. 1 is that the Oilers uniforms may never return to circulation again. The Titans announced earlier this offseason that the Oilers uniforms were not going to be worn in 2025. Instead, the team is planning to lean into their home light blue jerseys.
I asked Warren Moon on Friday if that played a factor in his decision. He told me that it certainly did. Moon’s hope is that nobody will ever wear a No. 1 Oilers jersey. He indicated to me that the Oilers jerseys may never come back and the Titans may replace them with a new jersey set in the near future.
“That definitely had something to do with it and we don’t know if they’re ever going to be worn again. You just never know," he told me. "They have new uniforms coming out that are very similar. So there might not even be a reason to wear the Oilers uniforms again."
It sounds like the Titans will be incorporating the Oilers color palette into a Titans-branded uniform that will become the regular jerseys for the team. That could very likely be introduced for the move to the new stadium in 2027.
No uniform is expected to be introduced this season, but a buffer period of a few years would explain why the Titans pulled them from circulation in 2025.
