Schlereth: Players will blame Ward move, management if Broncos slide

Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib said the nickname stays.

“Ain’t nobody flying. They still can’t fly. The name doesn’t change,” the veteran said of the “No Fly Zone” moniker following the release of one of its members: safety T.J. Ward.

“(Ward) knows we love him. We’re going to miss him,” Talib said Monday. “It’s part of our jobs. That’s what makes us professionals. You could put us anywhere. We can adapt. We can adjust. We all did it.”

Along with the announcement of Justin Simmons as the Broncos starting safety and Will Parks as the starting dime backer, head coach Vance Joseph said the team was “moving forward” without its Pro Bowl safety.

“My thoughts are that T.J. was a great player for this franchise. We won a lot of games with this guy. So, we’re going to miss having T.J.,” Joseph said Monday. “He’s a good person, a good man, but, we’re on to the Chargers. That’s behind us. We wish him well.”

However, Ward did not take the release lightly — calling the club’s handling of the move “completely unprofessional” — and so might his former teammates should opponents start to take off on the Broncos secondary, said Mark Schlereth.

Ward took issue with how his release was communicated, but Schlereth said on Tuesday that just as winning heals all wounds losing compounds them.

“If things aren’t going well, and things start to slide … that becomes an access point to say, ‘Aha. Right there. That was the seminal that happened that really was the decline of our football team,’” the “Schlereth & Evans” co-host said.

Schlereth pointed to the Broncos 1999 season, a team in which he was a member, as an example of how the locker room can spoil over front office moves.

Instead of talking about the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, a feat hard to overcome in itself, Schlereth said the locker room instead focused on the offseason acquisition of former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Dale Carter.

Carter, whom Schlereth was told by coaches and management lacked the character to play for the Broncos, was signed to a four-year, $22.8 million contract — making him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive back.

The deal is often referenced among the worst by the Broncos organization.

“That’s the kind of crap that gets talked about in the locker room that you look upstairs and you go, ‘They’re full of baloney,’” Schlereth said. “And it bothers you as a player.”

Schlereth cautioned the Broncos about falling into the same situation with Ward’s release.

“This is the kind of move that if things start to slide, and they don’t play well, players will point back to and say, ‘Management is full of crap,’” Schlereth said.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.