Cam Ward Plays Bowl Game's First Half And Sits Second Half Which Will Be A Question For NFL Teams

Everything Cam Ward did this season at the University of Miami, from winning the Davey O'Brien Award to competing for the Heisman Trophy to elevating an entire program that badly needed a lift, was fabulous … until Saturday.

And then in the middle of another trademark game in which he threw three touchdown passes in the first half, pushing his career total to 158 and a Division I record, Ward stopped playing. 

ORLANDO, FL - DECEMBER 28: Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward (1) throws a pass during the game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Iowa State Cyclones on December 28, 2024 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Cam Ward Sits Amid No Explanation

He sat out the second half despite not being injured.

No, he didn't suddenly quit on his team. No, he wasn't being punished.

Ward not playing the second half of his final game at Miami was apparently the plan. It was apparently the result of some agreement between Ward and head coach Mario Cristobal.

And I'm guessing here because Ward wasn't made available to speak after the Miami loss, which happened when the team got outscored again. And Cristobal was intentionally vague in explaining the situation.

"All meetings with players, and decisions like that, we made them in private; We keep them in private," Cristobal told reporters after the loss. "So, I'll prefer not to answer any questions as it relates to that. But I know he played his best while he was in there."

If that sounds to you like Ward sat out the second half based on some unprecedented negotiation that happened between Cristobal and him – one that neither had him fully turning his back on the team nor fully investing everything he had in it – then we're on the same page. 

That's what it sounds like to me.

Nov 9, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal on the sideline against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Ward Familiar With Business Of Football

And it looked weird. It looked like he merely wanted to play long enough to break an NCAA record and that was it.

And it tells me Ward, who made $2 million from an NIL deal this season, is already familiar with making business decisions about his football career. And that will prepare him for his next step, which is getting drafted first or second in April's NFL draft.

It's going to be interesting to see how NFL teams view what Ward, Cristobal, and the Hurricanes decided to do on Saturday. 

One thing is certain: Regardless of whether Cristobal wants it to remain private, no team is going to think of using a first-round pick on the quarterback without getting a proper explanation on the matter.

So Ward had better have a good explanation at the ready when every team he speaks to before the draft, starting with the Indianapolis Combine in February, asks why he didn't play the second half of the bowl game. 

Why did you decide to make the punctuation point at the end of your college career a question mark instead of an exclamation point, Cam?

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: Cam Ward #1 of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball during the 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Miami Hurricanes at Camping World Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Dustin Markland/Getty Images)

Move Won't Hurt Ward Draft Slot

Notice I'm not saying the move will in any way disqualify Ward from the lofty draft slot he's expected to occupy next April.

NFL teams refuse to be prisoners to only picking players so blinded by a live-and-die-with-the-team mentality that they hurt themselves, and thus the team.

It's why you've rarely heard an NFL coach complain when his quarterback doesn't try to make a tackle on an interception return.  

Granted, no one wants a quitter.

That's why the San Francisco 49ers were so bitter about the way De'Vondre Campbell quit on them in the second half of their game against the Rams weeks ago. They felt betrayed and so the 49ers didn't just waive Campbell and give him a chance to play elsewhere, but instead suspended him for the season's remaining three games – sending him home without any further opportunity to play.  

But there's a fine line between quitting unexpectedly and planning with the coach to step back, as if strategically. As if as part of a universal decision-making process.

NFL teams are going to be fine with that. They'll accept that.

NFL Teams Accept Decisions To Stop

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, for example, last year sat out the ReliaQuest Bowl. He made it plain it was to prepare for the draft. Everyone knew it was to make sure he didn't get injured and cost himself tons of money.

Not only did Daniels get drafted, he went No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders.

Look, NFL teams care about availability mostly when something of importance is hanging in the balance. Gone are the days when Bill Belichick played Wes Welker in a meaningless final game of the 2010 regular season and the receiver blew out his ACL.

Today's NFL teams generally don't play their best players in the preseason and most playoff teams save their players from meaningless games at the end of the regular season. 

If you don't believe it, watch the lineups for the playoff teams with nothing to gain next week.

And it's not just the playoff teams. This year, for example, the same 49ers who were livid about Campbell quitting also shut down running back Christian McCaffrey. And linebacker Dre Greenlaw. 

The Cowboys similarly shut down receiver CeeDee Lamb.

So, the NFL is not quite the sacrifice-it-all league many people would like to believe. As long as Ward explains the plan to watch the second half on Saturday, he's going to remain in great demand.

Even if the moment did look weird.