Everything Cam Ward did at the University of Miami this season, from winning the Davey O’Brien Award to competing for the Heisman Trophy to boosting an entire program that desperately needed an upgrade, was fabulous…until Saturday .

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

Cam Ward sits in the middle of no explanation

Although he was uninjured, he had to sit out the second half.

No, he didn’t suddenly leave his team. No, he wasn’t punished.

Apparently the plan was for Ward not to play the second half of his final game in Miami. It was apparently the result of an agreement between Ward and head coach Mario Cristobal.

And I’m guessing here because Ward wasn’t available to talk after the loss in Miami, which came when the team was once again outnumbered. And Cristobal intentionally explained the situation vaguely.

“All meetings with players and decisions like this were made privately; we keep it private,” Cristobal told reporters after the loss. “Therefore, I prefer not to answer any questions regarding this. But I know he did his best there.”

If that sounds to you like Ward had to sit out the second half due to an unprecedented negotiation between Cristobal and himself – a negotiation in which he neither completely turned his back on the team nor invested everything he had into them – then it is we’re on the same page.

That’s what it sounds like to me.

Ward is familiar with the football business

And it looked strange.

But it shows me that Ward, who made $2 million this season on a NIL deal, is already comfortable making business decisions about his football career. And that will prepare him for his next step, which is to be drafted first or second in April’s NFL draft.

It will 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 will entertain the idea of ​​selecting their quarterback in the first round without receiving proper explanation on the subject.

So Ward better have a good explanation ready when every team he talks 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 mark a question mark instead of an exclamation point at the end of your college career, Cam?

Moving won’t hurt Ward’s draft slot

Note that I’m not saying the move disqualifies Ward in any way from the high draft spot he’s expected to occupy next April.

NFL teams refuse to be prisoners of only selecting players who are so blinded by a “live and die with the team” mentality that they harm themselves and, in turn, the team.

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

Admittedly, no one wants a quitter.

That’s why the San Francisco 49ers were so bitter about the way De’Vondre Campbell left them in the second half of their game against the Rams weeks ago. They felt betrayed and so the 49ers didn’t simply waive Campbell and give him the chance to play elsewhere, but instead suspended him for the remaining three games of the season and sent him home with no further opportunity to play.

But there’s a fine line between quitting unexpectedly and planning with the coach to take a step back as if it were strategic. As if as part of a universal decision-making process.

NFL teams will deal with it. They will accept that.

NFL teams accept decisions to quit

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, for example, sat out last year’s ReliaQuest Bowl. He made it clear that it was the preparation of the draft. Everyone knew it was to make sure he didn’t get hurt and cost tons of money.

Not only was Daniels drafted, but he went No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders.

Look, NFL teams primarily care about availability when something important is on the line. Gone are the days when Bill Belichick played against Wes Welker in a meaningless final game of the 2010 regular season and the receiver destroyed 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, look at the lineups of the no-win playoff teams next week.

And it’s not just the playoff teams. This year, for example, the same 49ers who were angry about Campbell’s retirement also cut running back Christian McCaffrey. And linebacker Dre Greenlaw.

The Cowboys also shut down receiver CeeDee Lamb.

So the NFL isn’t quite the sacrifice league that many people would like to believe. As long as Ward explains his plan to watch the second half on Saturday, he will continue to be in high demand.

Even if the moment seemed strange.