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The Denver Broncos were unable to win the Super Bowl this past season, but they're doing their best to win one in the offseason. After upgrading their defensive backfield by signing cornerback Aqib Talib away from the Patriots and safety T.J. Ward from the Browns, they needed to find someone to upgrade their pass-rush.
Shaun Phillips is a free agent, and Von Miller will likely miss the start of the 2014 season as he recovers from a torn ACL.
Enter DeMarcus Ware, who just was cut by the Dallas Cowboys. Not long after he was released, he and the Broncos have a greed to a deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter:
BREAKING: Former Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware has reached agreement w/Broncos on 3 year/$30M contract. (pending physical) pic.twitter.com/XDweXNwCl0
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) March 12, 2014
DeMarcus Ware's Denver deal will pay him $13M this year - $250,000 more than he was scheduled to make from Cowboys, who released him Tues.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2014
Ware had a career-low six sacks and missed three games because of injury for the first time in his career last season due to a quad strain. He also finished with a carer-low 40 tackles. He had a streak of seven seasons with at least 11 sacks prior to last year. The Cowboys saved $7.432 million by cutting Ware.
It's pretty surprising to see the Broncos shell-out that much money for a defender who will turn 32 in July. Ware notched 117 sacks in nine seasons with the Cowboys, earning Pro Bowl honors every year from 2006 to 2012.
He had 20 sacks in 2008 and 19.5 sacks in 2011. Only Hall of Famer Reggie White had more 15-sack seasons in a career. He had five compared to Ware's three. The Broncos now look like the runaway favorites to represent the AFC in next year's Super Bowl.
Well done John Elway.
— Ian Kenyon (@IanKenyonNFL) March 12, 2014