After weighing 219 pounds as a rookie, second-year Tennessee Titans starting quarterback Cam Ward arrived at organized team activities (OTAs) looking noticeably thinner this month.
In fact, the former first-overall draft pick is 10 pounds lighter, he told reporters on Thursday, crediting a renewed focus on monitoring carbs, calories and protein. What’s more, he believes the weight loss will make him faster and keep him on the field after ending a 3-14 rookie campaign with a sprained throwing shoulder.
‘I think it’ll help me with durability,’ Ward told reporters. ‘Just being faster, getting up in the pocket, and trying to play my speed. I watch my diet more, continue to have more cardio, just work on my body, just now here and when I’m away from the building.’
Now that he is back in the building, Ward and his Titans teammates will also be without seed oils after the organization banned the controversial ingredient from the team cafeteria.
New head coach Robert Saleh revealed the decision earlier in the week, and although he didn’t mention Robert F. Kennedy Jr., banning seed oils has been a central goal for President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary and his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement.
‘… Americans should have every right to eat out at a restaurant without being unknowingly poisoned by heavily subsidized seed oils,’ Kennedy wrote on X in 2024, while urging consumers to use beef tallow instead.
After weighing 219 pounds as a rookie, second-year Tennessee Titans starting quarterback Cam Ward arrived at organized team activities (OTAs) looking noticeably thinner this month
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward is pictured at Thursday’s OTAs in Nashville
Ward was listed at 219 in 2025, which he felt was too heavy and has since dropped 10 pounds
‘It’s time to Make Frying Oil Tallow Again,’ Kennedy added.
He continued pushing against seed oils after taking office, praising fast food chains like Steak’n Shake for using beef tallow in March of 2025.
And it wasn’t just Kennedy, but other conservative leaders as well, including the now-deceased Charlie Kirk.
‘RFK Jr. just ate Steak’n Shake on live TV, the fast food joint that’s bravely frying everything in beef tallow,’ Kirk wrote on X. ‘This is the way.’
The problem, according to Kennedy, is that products like canola oil cause inflammation, obesity and diabetes.
But experts aren’t convinced that seed oils are the nutritional boogeyman conservative influencers say they are.
‘I don’t know where it came from that seed oils are bad,’ Martha Belury, an Ohio State University food science professor, told The Associated Press in March of 2025.
Many nutrition scientists point to research confirming the benefits of the oils, particularly when compared to butter or lard.
New Titans coach Robert Saleh (pictured) didn’t mention Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while announcing his decision to ban seed oils, but the decision follows the secretary’s guidance
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. does not like seed oils
And while some critics say seed oils are too high in omega-6 and low in omega-3 composition, thereby exacerbating inflammation issues, Belury strongly disagreed. After studying fatty acids for three decades, she came to believe that the critics are misunderstanding the issue.
‘Scientists who study omega-6 and omega-3 think we need both,’ Belury told the AP. ‘Seed oils do not increase acute or chronic inflammation markers.’
Additionally, the American Heart Association said there is no real reason to avoid seed oils.
In any case, the Titans are looking to stay healthier in 2025 after ranking among the NFL leaders in games lost to injury last season.
Saleh, though, believes Tennessee has the infrastructure to fix the problem.
‘I’ve been in six different buildings and I’d put this staff up there with the best of them,’ Saleh said. ‘The product they put out in the cafeteria daily is outstanding.’
