NFL Free Agency: T.J. Ward Expected To Be Pursued By The Denver Broncos
By Andrew Dill
Sep 9, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns strong safety T.J. Ward (43) during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Philadelphia won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The market for free-agency opens up Tuesday afternoon and the Denver Broncos are expected to be recruiting for some defensive help. One candidate that Denver will likely pursue hard is Cleveland Browns safety T.J. Ward. Denver’s biggest struggles came from the secondary where they gave up nearly 254.4 passing yards per game, 27th in the National Football League.
This coming from Mike Klis of The Denver Post:
"The Broncos are going to attempt to upgrade the position. They are expected to pursue Cleveland strong safety T.J. Ward when the free-agent market opens Tuesday."
Broncos starting safety Rahim Moore went down with a serious leg injury against the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field in week 11 of the regular season. It would result in a season-ending injury that could have potentially led to amputation if not treated right away. Denver would fill in Moore’s vacant spot with veteran Mike Adams who will become a free-agent. Adams did a decent job filling in for Moore but his lack of speed killed him in certain situations.
Denver has also been linked to Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd who will be asking for the most money out of the safety free-agent class and another veteran in Donte Whitner of the San Francisco 49ers. Denver also has shown interest in Carolina Panthers safety Mike Mitchell and Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas. The need for safety help really showed in Super Bowl 48 where Denver couldn’t stop the big plays from Seattle. They also witnessed first-hand what an elite, hard-hitting safety can do as Kam Chancellor intimidated the top scoring offense in NFL history.
Denver would cut Champ Bailey last week, setting them up for an extra $9.0 million in cap space. It was hard to see the veteran captain leaving Denver without even given the chance to reconstructure his contract, but the NFL is a business and we must trust what John Elway and company have in store for free-agency and the draft.