DeMarcus Ware to be placed on IR

[Poet]

‪Broncos placing DeMarcus Ware on injured reserve today due to back injury, sources tell @Jeff_Legwold and me. Could be end of great career. - Adam Schefter.

I was talking with Val about resigning him the other day. I'd still be open to it, but it would have to be a very cheap contract at this point. I expect him to retire.

[Davii]

I hope he has another year in him, I would hate to see him go out on a season where we missed the playoffs, etc. I agree that the contract would have to be team friendly, and it all rides on his health with as often as he's having back issues. Love me some Ware, the man is a leader, glad we could put a ring on his finger.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

I would also like to see him play another year, but if he does retire, I would like to see him end up on the coaching staff in some capacity.

[Poet]

He's one of my all-time favorite players. When he retires, I will be saddened the same way I was when Peyton walked away.

[NightTerror218]

Had back issues so much this year. Love the leadership but dude walk away while you can walk.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The Broncos placed veteran outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware on injured reserve with a lower back injury, ending his season a week early and possibly ending his decorated 12-year NFL career.

Ware did not practice Wednesday because of lingering lower back pain. He aggravated his back last season and missed the entire offseason and preseason to try to recover. Although he didn’t miss time because of the injury this year — he instead missed five games with an elbow injury — Gary Kubiak said Wednesday that it’s something Ware has “been playing through that has kind of bothered him more and more.”

Ware, 34, signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Broncos in 2014 as part of general manager John Elway’s defensive overhaul following the team’s blowout loss to Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII, joining veteran safety T.J. Ward and cornerback Aqib Talib as newcomers.

“People talk about us trying to buy a defense and this and that, but all those guys we brought in fit in great,” Elway told The Denver Post in August. “The overall philosophy I’m proud of — play great defense and continue to try to get better on the offensive side. … You never know how they’re going to mold together, but those guys — especially with DeMarcus and his leadership ability — everything just molded.”


rest - http://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/28/demarcus-ware-injured-reserve-broncos/

[Magnificent Seven]

I think DeMarcus Ware will return to Denver for one last run. He won't retire that way. (Locked in IR and retire? Nah.)

[Denver Native (Carol)]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – DeMarcus Ware needs season-ending back surgery that could spell the end of his NFL career.

The Denver Broncos placed Ware on injured reserve Wednesday along with cornerback Kayvon Webster, who sustained a concussion last weekend at Kansas City.

The Broncos (8-7) elevated nose tackle Kyle Peko and cornerback Taurean Nixon from the practice squad to take their places on the roster for the season finale against the Raiders (12-3).

Ware took a big pay cut to return to the Broncos after winning his first Super Bowl ring, but he missed almost all of the offseason with back troubles. He broke his left forearm Sept. 18.

The 12-year veteran had four sacks in 10 games, giving him 138½ for his career, sixth best all-time.

– By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2016/12/28/demarcus-wares-nfl-career-could-be-over-needs-season-ending-surgery/

[Shazam!]

I'm glad he got with Denver much like Neil Smith did in the 90s but he's done.

Thanks Ware.

I can alway give Cowboys fans a headache he was always a favorite player. Guy was awesome and he helped groom Von.

[Magnificent Seven]

D. Ware vs. Cowboys in season 2017!

[Nomad]

There is life after football....go enjoy it, D. Ware.

[dogfish]

love the guy, but it's probably time for him to hang 'em up. . . back problems can really dog you later in life, and he's struggled with them for some time. . . dude has nothing left to prove, and nothing left to achieve. . . he's a sure HOFer in my book. . . not that i'd mind having his leadership for another year, but you can only pay so much for it when his production is a question mark, and you have multiple young studs waiting behind him (not just shane ray, either-- we deep, fam). . . with talib and ward, we're in good shape for defensive leadership even if ware doesn't come back. . . besides, it's a strain on your roster management to have to carry a spot for him all year, and really never know when he's going to be available and when he's not. . . unless he's coming back on the super cheap, at this point i'd say the money is probably better spent on the other side of the ball. . . i think we all know they need a freakin' TON of help. . .

[Cugel]

I always expected Ware to retire after this season. His 4 year contract is over. He tried to come back this season, but the back never really fully healed, leading to career lows in sacks and tackles. He's a certain Hall of Fame inductee as soon as he's eligible. He has won a Super Bowl and has nothing to prove.

That said I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to heal up for a while and then come back later. It would just depend on how his back felt in March or April or June.

This is why this 2016 season is so disappointing. Ware cannot be replaced any more than Peyton Manning can be replaced. Shane Ray is a nice player, but not remotely the player Ware was. And Ware was a force in the locker room. Articles describe him as seeing offensive tendencies that left other players scratching their heads wondering whether everybody else in the room saw the same thing, and then learning that only Ware saw it. "Notice how he's tipping his hand? That means he's going to block inside." (Other guys looking at each other in some confusion).

More and more clearly the 2015 Broncos SB run was a kind of once in a lifetime thing. Only a few teams in NFL history have won SBs with dominating defense and no offense to speak of: the '85 Bears, the 2000 Ravens, the 2002 Bucs, the 2015 Broncos. And none of those teams repeated. The Ravens, Bucs and Broncos didn't even make the playoffs, while the '86 Bears failed to make the Conference Championship game.

None of those teams came back later either. Coaching losses, FA defections, players getting old, other teams adjusting to counter-act the things that made them successful (like the Bears '46 Defense which stymied offenses for a time, but which is nothing special now). Offenses have learned how to attack Denver's No-Fly Zone defense too - attack the middle of the defense with various rushing attacks.

The only teams that win multiple championships have elite QBs as well as great defense. It's just much easier to go to multiple SBs if you have Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Rothlisberger, a consistent top 10 QB.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

A day after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured disc in his back, Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware said in a Twitter post that the procedure was a success and that he intends to return for a 13th NFL season.

“Appreciate the thoughts, prayers, articles, etc. Surgery went well,” he wrote Saturday. “I’ve noticed critics always count you out because that’s what they want to see according to THEIR timetable of your life. In life, there are people of many words, but far less people of action. Sometimes things don’t need to be said. Critics will try to crown u, but they don’t even know what the throne feels like. I’m not ready to rule the kingdom yet; there’s still fire in my heart to do work out here. And if you don’t see the kind of work I’m referring to, you’ll see this ’17 season. Can’t never count me out; count me in ….. #94.”

much more, including Wade's comments on DeMarcus, as well as player's comments
http://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/31/demarcus-ware-says-surgery-a-success-he-still-wants-to-do-work-in-2017/