DeMarcus Ware - Pro Football Rumors

Broncos Place DeMarcus Ware On IR

December 28th, 2016 at 5:42pm CST by Zachary Links

5:42pm: Ware needs back surgery, Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press reports. This could threaten to end Ware’s career, per Stapleton. The Broncos’ blind-side pass-rusher and vital instrument to the team claiming its third Super Bowl title last season, Ware has dealt with significant back issues over the past two seasons — missing almost all of this offseason and five games last season as a result of this issue.

Although Ware’s contract with the Broncos is up after 2016, he expressed desire to play one more year, with Mike Klis of 9News reporting the outside linebacker wants to do that in Denver. The Broncos chose Shane Ray in the first round of the ’15 draft and have fellow backup Shaquil Barrett playing a steady role off the bench, so a Ware reunion might not be in the cards for the Broncos, at least not at the price he signed for in 2014 (three years, $30MM). The team has some cap space but has bigger issues to deal with this offseason than addressing a pass rush that still would rank toward the top of the league without Ware.

3:17pm: The Broncos are placing DeMarcus Ware on injured reserve, the team announced. Ware was unable to go in practice on Wednesday as he deals with a back injury.

This may mean that Ware has played his final game with Denver and his final NFL game. He’s slated for free agency at the end of the year and it may be time to call it a career at the age of 34. This year, Ware appeared in 10 games and totaled 15 tackles and four sacks. That’s a step down from his previous two Pro Bowl seasons with the Broncos and several notches down from his best years with the Cowboys.

From 2005-2012, Ware was a staple in Dallas’ front seven. He earned four first-team All-Pro nods and seven Pro Bowl selections during that time and he did not miss a single regular-season game. He posted double-digit sack totals for the Cowboys in every season there, except for his first and last. In 2008, he led the entire league with 20.0 sacks. If this is the end of the line for Ware, he’ll leave behind a legacy of terrorizing quarterbacks while being a mensch off the field.

In other Broncos news, defensive back Kayvon Webster was also placed on IR with a concussion. The Broncos promoted nose tackle Kyle Peko and cornerback Taurean Nixon from the practice squad to the active roster.

DeMarcus Ware Fractures Forearm

September 18th, 2016 at 9:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Led by their dominant defense, the Broncos improved to 2-0 on Sunday with a 34-20 victory over the Colts. The Denver ‘D’ sacked Colts quarterback Andrew Luck five times and scored two touchdowns, but the unit may have lost a key cog for the foreseeable future. Outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware fractured his forearm, head coach Gary Kubiak said after the game. Further evaluation Monday will help the Broncos determine whether Ware needs surgery (via Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com).

Ware will likely miss three to four weeks, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). It’s worth noting that the next four quarterbacks on the Broncos’ schedule are Andy Dalton (Bengals), Jameis Winston (Buccaneers), Matt Ryan (Falcons) and Philip Rivers (Chargers).

Before leaving early in the third quarter Sunday, Ware contributed a half-sack, giving him two this year and 136.5 in his decorated career. Ware, who’s in his third season with the Broncos, has never finished a season with fewer than six sacks. He piled up 7.5 last year in just 11 regular-season games – the lowest total of his career – and tallied another 3.5 in three playoff contests as the Broncos’ defense steamrolled its way to a Super Bowl championship.

Entering this year, Ware missed the Broncos’ offseason program and the preseason while dealing with a back issue. He’ll now try to overcome what could be another significant injury, one that could leave the Broncos with Shane Ray as their primary weakside linebacker. Ray, whom the Broncos chose in the first round of last year’s draft, appeared in 15 of 16 regular-season games as a rookie and amassed four sacks. He has three tackles in the early going this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Kaepernick, Ware, Dunlap, Irvin

March 12th, 2016 at 9:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Colin Kaepernick should call the 49ers‘ bluff and rescind his trade request, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Kaepernick’s $11.9MM base salary becomes fully guaranteed on April 1 — the Browns reportedly are willing to send a third-round pick to San Francisco in exchange for Kaepernick, but only if the quarterback agrees to lower his salary. The 49ers don’t want to pay that total, either, so Florio argues that if Kaepernick drops his request to be dealt, he forces the Niners to either guarantee him almost $12MM or release him, allowing Kaepernick to choose his next destination.

Here’s more the NFL’s two West divisions…

We learned earlier today that as part of his restructure, Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware can earn back all the money he agreed to cut through sack-based incentives. Per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com, Ware can earn between $1.25MM and $3.5MM when he hits eight, nine, 11, and 13 sacks. It’s a smart structure by Denver — because Ware posted 7.5 sacks in 2015, every penny of those incentives will be labeled “not likely to be earned,” meaning the club won’t have to carry any portion of that total on its 2016 cap.
Chargers left tackle King Dunlaps‘s 2016 base salary of $4.5MM became fully guaranteed today, as Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes (Twitter link). Dunlap, entering the second year of a four-year deal, will count for roughly $6.34MM on San Diego’s cap next year.
Former Seahawks linebackers coach — and current Raiders defensive coordinator — Ken Norton Jr. played a large role in luring Bruce Irvin to Oakland, as Irvin explains to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. “I wanted to get back with him,” Irvin said of Norton Jr. “Like I said before, that guy, he’s done a lot for me, not only on the field, but off the field. He saved my career by bringing me from defensive end to a linebacker, so I have the utmost respect for that guy.”
In a separate column, Florio reports that agents are advising their clients not to sign contracts with the Rams that seem to be bound by Missouri laws. The issue, per Florio, is that California, where the Rams will play next season, has much more pro-labor workers’ rights laws, thus the club would rather the deals be controlled by Missouri language.

DeMarcus Ware, Broncos Agree To Pay Cut

March 12th, 2016 at 2:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

2:47pm: No extra years were added to Ware’s deal, per Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). He will make $4MM in base salary, with a $500K roster bonus in addition to the potential incentives mentioned below.

2:41pm: Ware’s wages in 2016 will be reduced from $10MM to $6.5MM, Mike Florio of PFT reports. $4MM of that figure is fully guaranteed. The 33-year-old linebacker can earn back all of the salary he reduced via sack-based incentives, Florio notes, with a formula that starts at eight sacks and ends at 13. Ware’s representatives believed on this market the veteran linebacker, who turns 34 in July, would have earned upwards of $10MM AAV. But Ware didn’t want to change teams again.

However, the Broncos wanted to reduce Ware’s contract because he’s in line to have less of an every-down role and more of a passing-situation presence, Mike Klis of 9News tweets. The Broncos have Shaquil Barrett and Shane Ray as able backups who could see more time as a result.

1:39pm: DeMarcus Ware and the Broncos have agreed to a reduced contract for 2016, keeping the Pro Bowl linebacker in Denver, according to ESPN (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

The 12-year veteran potentially faced a situation where he’d be cut of he didn’t agree to restructure his contract, which called for the 33-year-old edge stalwart to make more than $11.66MM in the final year of his three-year, $30MM contract with the Broncos.

Ware was due a $3MM roster bonus on Sunday, per Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) and the Broncos identified the All-Pro blind-side rusher as a priority during an offseason where the Super Bowl champions’ roster has been gutted by free agent defections and cap-related cuts.

The Broncos lost Brock Osweiler, Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan on Day 1 of free agency and cut Louis Vasquez and Owen Daniels to create cap space Wednesday. C.J. Anderson could be the latest defection, with the Dolphins signing the running back to a four-year, $18MM offer sheet after the Broncos opted to apply the low-end tender to Anderson and open the door for teams’ interest.

A four-time first-team All-Pro, Ware registered 12 quarterback hits in the Broncos’ three postseason contests. Super Bowl MVP Von Miller totaled six during this span. Ware collected 7.5 sacks in 11 games last season despite missing a career-most five contests due to a back injury.

The Broncos have discussed a restructure of Ryan Clady‘s contract with the two-time All-Pro left tackle twice, per Renck (via Twitter), but nothing’s been resolved along that front.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Broncos

March 4th, 2016 at 8:18pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Broncos have made an offer likely worth upward of $12.27MM per season to pending free agent quarterback Brock Osweiler, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. There’s no word on the length of the proposed contract, but the annual value would place Osweiler slightly above Nick Foles‘ $12.25MM per year. Foles, who signed a two-year, $24.5MM extension with the Rams last summer, is just 21st among quarterbacks in average salary.

Denver has until Monday to negotiate exclusively with Osweiler. If no deal is reached by then, the 25-year-old will be able to pursue offers from other teams as part of the NFL’s legal tampering period. Osweiler could then sign a contract with another club when free agency opens Wednesday.

The Broncos understandably have balked at paying a high price for Osweiler, who hasn’t garnered much playing time since they took him in the second round of the 2012 draft. The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder appeared in a career-high eight games and made his first seven starts last season, but he wasn’t particularly impressive. Osweiler’s numbers – 61 percent completion rate, 7.15 yards per attempt, 10 TDs, six picks – were unremarkable, and he didn’t take the field during the playoffs after a knee injury knocked him out of action in Week 17. Peyton Manning, whose foot injury originally opened the door for Osweiler in November, took the reins back and served as a game manager in all three of the Broncos’ postseason wins, including their 24-10 Super Bowl triumph over Carolina.

As for Manning, he remains undecided about his future. The soon-to-be 40-year-old is a lock to end up in another uniform if he elects to keep playing, as the Broncos have moved on from him, per Renck. The Broncos will make that official when they release the future Hall of Famer sometime before Tuesday. When that happens, the club will free up $19MM of spending space. In addition, the Broncos are considering restructuring the expensive deals of linebacker DeMarcus Ware, offensive tackle Ryan Clady and guard Louis Vasquez, Renck writes. As of now, that trio is set to occupy nearly $29MM in cap next season.

If the Broncos cut Manning and adjust the contracts of Ware, Clady and Vasquez, they’ll give themselves a better chance to keep priority free agents like Osweiler and stellar defensive lineman Malik Jackson. Renck reported Monday that Jackson and the Broncos were roughly $3MM per year apart on contract talks.

Guard Evan Mathis, who’s also unsigned, is contemplating retirement, according to Renck. The Broncos signed the two-time Pro Bowler last summer after the Eagles released him, and he ultimately started in 12 of 16 regular-season appearances. Mathis, 34, earned rave reviews for his performance from Pro Football Focus (subscription required), which ranked him third out of 81 qualifying guards.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC Notes: Miller, Ware, Chargers, Steelers

February 27th, 2016 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here’s the latest from around the AFC.

The Broncos are heading toward placing the franchise tag on Von Miller, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter). Although the sides began exchanging proposals at the Combine, the Broncos only have until Tuesday to determine if Miller will receive the tag he’d been expecting essentially since Denver re-signed Demaryius Thomas last summer. With the league’s potential highest-paid defender probably set for the tag, Malik Jackson‘s future in Denver becomes cloudier after a report surfaced of his latest demands. Miller’s tag would cost the Broncos $14.12MM.
Denver’s also started restructure talks with DeMarcus Ware and Ryan Clady, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Each is slated to take up than $11MM of the Broncos’ 2016 cap. Clady, the longest-tenured Broncos cog and their left tackle starter since 2008, previously agreed to discuss restructuring his deal. Going into the third and final season of his $30MM deal, the 33-year-old Ware had not. Although he missed five games last season with a bulging disc, Ware re-emerged as a dominant presence in the playoffs, which could potentially complicate this abrupt renegotiation. The 29-year-old Clady’s deal runs through 2017. He’s missed both Super Bowls and 30 regular-season games in 2013 and ’15, and although Clady suited up for all of 2014, his play dipped a bit from the previous All-Pro level.
The Chargers are not locked into their No. 3 selection and will listen to offers to trade down, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. With needs across the roster and teams potentially clamoring about moving up to take a quarterback, trading down could make sense for the Chargers. They haven’t had the opportunity to select a player in the top five since ending up with Philip Rivers in 2004, however, both times San Diego’s held a top-five selection in the 21st century, 2001 and 2004, it traded the pick.
The Steelers losing both Kelvin Beachum and Ramon Foster in free agency is an unlikely scenario, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. Continuity-heavy Pittsburgh’s working to retain at least one of its offensive line’s starting left side, La Canfora reports.

Broncos Rumors: QBs, Trevathan, Clady, RBs, Davis

February 25th, 2016 at 5:06pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is still undecided about whether to retire or return for his age-40 season, general manager John Elway said at the combine on Thursday (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post).

“He still needs more time, so we’re going to afford him that time,” said Elway, who met with Manning a couple nights ago, per Jhabvala.

Elway and Manning will meet again in a week or two, Lindsay Jones of USA Today tweets.

“The ball is in his court,” Elway said.

Elway also touched on some of the Super Bowl champions’ other key issues Thursday. Let’s dive in…

The Broncos will not place the franchise tag on Manning’s potential successor, Brock Osweiler, according to Elway (Twitter link Jones). They would like to lock him up to a new deal, though. “We’re really not in a hurry. Brock knows what we have to offer and we still have a great deal of interest in Brock,” Elway stated (Twitter link via Jhabvala).
Linebacker Danny Trevathan will “probably have to test the market,” Elway said (per Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com). Denver doesn’t seem likely to retain Trevathan, who is in position to cash in after accruing 109 tackles, two picks and ranking as Pro Football Focus’ 10th-best linebacker last season.
Elway has spent most of his draft prep focusing on the offensive line, he said (Twitter link via Jones). He’ll also meet with offensive tackle Ryan Clady‘s agent on Friday to discuss restructuring his contract, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). Clady indicated earlier this winter that he’s open to reworking his deal to stay a Bronco. Injuries have plagued the four-time Pro Bowler, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL and has sat out 30 of Denver’s last 48 regular-season games. Clady, 29, is scheduled for cap charges exceeding $10MM in each of the next two seasons.
In addition to Clady, the Broncos might also attempt to rework edge rusher DeMarcus Ware‘s contract, Legwold writes. Ware is currently set to count $11.67MM against the Broncos’ cap for his age-34 season.
Running back will be a position the Broncos look at in free agency and the draft, per Elway, who added that C.J. Anderson “had a good year.” On free agent-to-be Ronnie Hillman, Elway stated, “[W]e’ll see what happens” (Twitter links via Jhabvala).
The Broncos will allow tight end Vernon Davis, whom they acquired from the 49ers last fall, to test the free agent market, according to Elway. “But that’s not to say we don’t want him back,” he added (Twitter link via Renck).

Extra Points: Broncos, Bears, Dolphins

February 13th, 2016 at 9:54pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A look around the NFL as Saturday wraps up:

Whether the Broncos bring back DeMarcus Ware next season might depend on if they can get a deal done with free agent-to-be Malik Jackson, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Both pass rushers have been important cogs in the Broncos’ dominant defense, but the salary cap could preclude the Super Bowl champions from retaining the pair. At 26, Jackson is significantly younger than Ware, who will enter his age-34 season. Further, releasing Ware would add $10MM to the Broncos’ cap for 2016. That money could obviously be put toward re-signing Jackson. If Denver does cut ties with Ware, his two-year stint with the team will have ended with a 3.5-sack playoff run. Two of those sacks came in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory over Carolina.
If the Bears determine that tight end Martellus Bennett is a holdout threat, they’ll start shopping him around the league next month, writes Chris Boden of CSNChicago.com. A holdout wouldn’t be unheard of for Bennett, who sat out the voluntary portion of the Bears’ offseason program last year in an effort to land a better contract. The Bears didn’t bite then, and it doesn’t sound as though they’d blink in the event of a hypothetical Bennett holdout this year. If Chicago shops the soon-to-be 29-year-old – as it did last offseason – and ends up unable to find a taker, the team could cut him and save nearly $5.2MM on its cap in 2016. Bennett’s status is one of many points touched on by PFR’s Dallas Robinson in his offseason preview of the Bears, which can be found here.
Regardless of whether they keep Brent Grimes, the Dolphins hope to add at least two new cornerbacks this offseason, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The team cut corner Brice McCain on Friday and could also send Jamar Taylor packing, according to Jackson. Doing so would save Miami just shy of $900,000 on its cap next season.

Jason Fitzgerald on Kaepernick, Free Agency, Rams

December 19th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Ben Levine

Jason Fitzgerald of OvertheCap.com answered a variety of questions on Twitter last night. The conversation focused on the upcoming offseason, and the writer did his best to make some early predictions. We’ve compiled the best of them, which you can find below…

Fitzgerald is convinced that the 49ers will be able to trade quarterback Colin Kaepernick. With a maximum $14.3MM cap hit (due to the $1MM savings if the team decides to deactivate him), the writer believes the Eagles could be a good fit for the embattled star.
Among the big-name players who could switch teams in free agency are (according to Fitzgerald) Alex Mack, Matt Forte, Russell Okung, Prince Amukamara, and Lamar Miller.
On the flip, Fitzgerald could imagine several big names being cut loose by their current teams, including Jamaal Charles, Jimmy Graham and DeMarcus Ware.
One of Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins will be back with the Rams next year, with Fitzgerald predicting an $8MM contract for Jenkins and $6MM for Johnson.
Assuming Marshawn Lynch‘s tenure in Seattle is over, Fitzgerald could envision the Patriots pursuing the running back. However, the writer is uncertain whether New England would have much interest.

Injury Updates: Hankins, Folk, Hicks, Ware

November 9th, 2015 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

As is often the case on Mondays during the NFL season, there have already been multiple reports of season-ending injuries to key players for contending teams, with the Patriots losing running back Dion Lewis to a torn ACL, and the Colts placing defensive lineman Henry Anderson on IR due to the same injury. Here are a few more of Monday’s latest noteworthy injury updates from around the NFL:

Giants head coach Tom Coughlin confirmed today that defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins will undergo surgery for a torn pectoral, ending his season, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). While New York’s defensive line got a boost this weekend with the return of Jason Pierre-Paul, Hankins’ season-ending injury is another step back.
Jets kicker Nick Folk has a quadriceps strain, and isn’t expected to play this Thursday against the Bills, a league source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Connor Hughes of the Journal Inquirer tweets that Billy Cundiff will be among the kickers getting a workout from the Jets as they seek a short-term replacement for Folk.
The Eagles‘ preliminary diagnosis of the pectoral injury suffered by Jordan Hicks suggests the linebacker should only miss two to four weeks, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The team is awaiting the MRI results to confirm that diagnosis.
The Falcons also got good news regarding defensive tackle Tyson Jackson, whose rib injury is a contusion, rather than a fracture, according to Rapoport (via Twitter).
After re-aggravating his back injury, Broncos pass rusher DeMarcus Ware is expected to miss the next two to four weeks or so, tweets Rapoport.
Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams is expected to miss the team’s next two games, a league source tells Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
The Ravens announced today that second-year defensive end Brent Urban has been cleared to return to practice. Urban, who began the season on injured reserve with the designation to return, can now be activated within the next three weeks to avoid landing on season-ending IR.