DENVER — “With the 98th pick in the 2016 draft,” Demarcus Ware said from a podium in Chicago. “The Denver Broncos select Justin Simmons, defensive back, Boston College.”
Shortly thereafter, as he celebrated with a group of family and friends, Simmons got a text. It was Pro-Bowl safety T.J. Ward, welcoming him to the star-studded defensive backfield before any other Bronco. The beginning of a friendship and a mentorship.
A day later, in the sixth round, the team selected Will Parks, another safety. At the time, the thought was that the Broncos were adding depth at the positions behind ‘No Fly Zone’ members Ward and Darian Stewart. They needed it with the departure of David Bruton.
When Simmons and Parks reported for rookie mini camp, Ward was there. In their first interaction, he simply told them to pay attention to then-defensive backs coach Joe Woods. The first of an endless stream of tips for the rookies.
As 2016 defensive coordinator Wade Phillips dropped pop quizzes on the young players, it was Ward—among others—who had them prepared. In more than 25 tests, the pair never missed one question. They had earned themselves some playing time in the best secondary in the National Football League.
A disappointing season came and went for the team, but Parks and Simmons proved to be the bright spots of the 2016 class, even combining on a play that miraculously grasped a Denver Broncos victory from the hands of defeat.
Despite all of the positive momentum heading into their second season, though, the two young safeties were still seen as depth pieces.
Somewhere along the way, that all changed.
On Aug. 4, Ward, the three-time pro bowler, inauspiciously walked to the locker room during practice. It was later revealed that he suffered a hamstring injury. At the time, it seemed like a minor bump in the road for the ‘No Fly,’ but it would lead to an entire preseason without No. 43 on the field.
In the words of Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, “Opportunity leads to promotion.”
Simmons started the entire preseason at safety; Parks started at the dime linebacker position the Broncos love so much. In their time on the field, the No. 1 defense gave up as many touchdowns as they scored themselves—one—a two-yard run after a near pick-six from the hand of Trevor Siemian.
Oh, and by the way, the promotion of those two players opened up playing time for an undrafted rookie safety by the name of Jamal Carter. Carter, now a member of the 53-man roster, led the team in preseason tackles, proving to be another “dog in the box” for the Denver defense.
In the NFL, if you have one good player behind you, you’re alright; everybody needs depth. If you have two good players behind you, though, well, you might be in trouble.
Between Simmons, who can play both free and strong safety, Stewart, who can play both free and strong safety and the combination of Parks and Carter at the dime linebacker position, the Broncos had a whole bunch of options. Suddenly the idea of a Stewart-Simmons combination up the middle seemed like an upgrade in pass coverage. Suddenly, the Broncos could get younger, healthier and cheaper in the box. Suddenly, T.J. Ward was expendable.
Parks was sitting right next to Ward when the defensive leader found out that his name was involved in a series of rumors, all of which surrounding the idea that he would no longer be a Denver Bronco.
“I was taken back,” the grasshopper admitted.
“I’m not even going to lie to you,” Parks continued. “He probably helped me out with about 80 percent of what I know now in the league. Not just as a football player, a lot of people would probably tell you that I hang with him outside of football. To hear that news, it took me back as far as like, you just never know what can happen. This is the NFL; it’s a grown man’s game at the end of the day. People are going to make the decisions they have to make, but at the same time, I love T.J. like a big brother. He taught me a lot. On the field, off the field, taught me how to move around, how to determine who is real and who isn’t. There are a lot of things I could tell you that he did for me but one thing is for sure; I love him like a big brother.”
“The easier question would be, ‘What hasn’t he done?’” Simmons added of what Ward has done for him. “T.J. has been there for me since day one… He’s just been there for me since day one… It’s crazy.”
Just one year earlier, before Parks’ first training camp, it was Ward who explained the cutthroat nature of the NFL to the young gun during his charity golf tournament.
“Look, they brought you in,” the vet told Parks. “I’ve got to teach you everything I know.”
His first piece of advice?
‘This is a business,” he explained. “So whatever’s going on, if you make the team or not, I’m always going to look out for you.”
Reminded of that memory, Parks paused.
“He’s a great man,” the second-year player explained with his eyes pointed toward the ceiling. “Great man.”
Just over one year after that golf tournament, on Sept. 2, 2017, it was the sensei who fell victim to the heartless nature of the National Football League. After the team failed to find a trade partner, T.J. Ward was informed of his release around 8:30 am.
On the same day the Broncos brought back Brock Osweiler, slaughtered repeatedly by the fan base for his perceived lack of loyalty, Ward’s release served as a stark reminder that loyalty hardly exists on the other side of things.
A man loyal enough to teach his eventual successors everything he knew, made expendable by their very success. Welcome to the NFL.
0 Comments (3 conversations)
A nice story and a true testament to TJ Ward’s professionalism.
But I think the real reason he’s gone is Father Time and his big contract. We got Ward because of the Browns’ total lack of personnel acumen. That club is easily the worst selectors of talent and managers of the salary cap in the league. Ward was worth every penny we paid him then. The Bucs are now paying him nearly as much as we would have had to but they are getting a player who is no longer in his prime. When you lose a step in the secondary, that’s the end. There’s no workaround for slow. Plus he’s showing more propensity to injury.
We kept an All-World DB in Champ Bailey two years too long and it cost us a key game or two. Elway doesn’t want to make that mistake again.
I’ve seen a lot of folks say that 2016 was a down year for TJ, or that he’s becoming more injury prone, but I don’t see much to back that up. He had more tackles, more QB hits & sacks, and more INTs+passes defensed in 2016 than any other season as a Bronco. He missed less games than during the SB season of 2015. I was really impressed with his season to be honest, and am an agreement with Ward himself when he says it was his best all-around season.
You can complain about his coverage slipping, but he “only” gave up two TDs all season long in 2016 (I can think of 2 off the top of my head that he gave up in 2014, and pretty sure he gave up more in 2015 as well). And his yards allowed per reception (7th in the league among 56 qualified safeties) and YAC/reception (11th in the league) both showed that he was actually pretty tight on coverage, with the only problem being the high number of targets he saw (that will happen when the other receiving options are being locked down by Talib/CHJ/Roby/Stew).
The hamstring could have been worse than we know, or there could have been other factors that we’re not privy to, but in terms of on the field production it’s pretty hard to justify letting TJ go based on what he did in 2016.
Yes but will his play in 2017 still be worth $4.5 M per year? I guess Tampa Bay will find out. Personnel decisions in the NFL are an inexact science.
TJ Ward would be a good choice for an assistant coach of some kind if he is not picked up by another team!
Good article. Still, I think John Elway made a mistake, BECAUSE of what TJ contributed in the locker room. If the team had had a year to get used to the idea, it wouldn’t have been so hard in 2018. If TJ could have been offered a back up role and then chose to go elsewhere, everyone would be saying he did what he had to do for his own career. To just release him when he was the glue to the defense . . . it’s a hard pill to swallow. I hope the No Fly can recover.