The Tennessee Titans ramped up their visible interest in Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward this week, sending a trove of personnel to his Pro Day on Monday, making it known he will meet with the club again for another session Friday in Nashville and spreading the word that it might take a lot to pry the No. 1 overall pick out of their hands.
Does all the smoke indicate that the Titans, who haven't stocked the QB room this offseason, are locked in on Ward as their franchise QB? Or are those wafting vapors just flattering fumes to entice another club that might want the Hurricanes passer to make Tennessee a massive offer?
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi told Jim Wyatt of the team's official website that all paths could be plowed.
"I would say everything is still on the table," Borgonzi said from Miami's Pro Day. "From the beginning I said I wanted to go through the whole process, and I felt like our priority was to build the offensive line first, and we added (tackle) Dan Moore and (guard) Kevin Zeitler.
"Now we're going through the process here with the college quarterbacks. But I'd say everything is still on the table right now."
The most notable offseason roster move is the one the Titans didn't make -- adding a surefire starting quarterback. Tennessee entered Wednesday with Will Levis -- not drafted by the current administration or coaching staff -- and journeyman backup Brandon Allen as the only signal-callers on the roster, before later signing veteran Tim Boyle on Wednesday afternoon.
That's not enough arms to get through offseason workouts, let alone the high-quality caliber needed to open the campaign.
The veteran pile has been picked over, so the draft is the next likely spot to find a potential long-term starter. The question is whether it's Ward or another player at No. 1 overall or whether Tennessee trades back and finds a signal-caller elsewhere.
This is the pre-draft game.