DeMarcus Ware gets his call to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

PHOENIX — DeMarcus Ware came to Denver in March 2014 with a Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume. He already had 117 sacks, four first-team All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl appearances to his name.

But after nine seasons, Dallas deemed him expendable.

The Broncos deemed him necessary.

And without Ware, they wouldn’t have won Super Bowl 50.

Ware’s role in the Broncos’ sprint to their third Vince Lombardi Trophy isn’t what put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday night as one of the members of the 2022 induction class. But it provided the exclamation point.

Consider this: Ware actually had more quarterback hits than Von Miller in the postseason — twice as many, to be precise. Ware racked up 12 hits on Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Cam Newton during the 2015 postseason.

When the Broncos signed Ware in 2014, he referred to their acquisitions of Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward as an “investment in brutal nasty.” All three delivered — and in that memorable playoff run, none delivered bigger in the highest-leverage moments than Ware.

9️⃣4️⃣ in the orange & blue 🤩

Every @DeMarcusWare sack as a Bronco: pic.twitter.com/ID66Fj9wfg

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) December 30, 2021

Ware becomes the second member of that 2015 Broncos team to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Quarterback Peyton Manning earned induction in 2021, his first year of eligibility.

But Ware is the first member of the famed 2015 defense to make the Hall of Fame. The first — and certain to not be the last.

Miller, the Super Bowl 50 MVP, is a lock for induction, only adding to his bulbous resume by having the same kind of role for the Los Angeles Rams last year as Ware did six years earlier.

Aqib Talib, who made Pro Bowls in all four seasons he played as a Bronco, retired ranking fourth all-time in pick-sixes. Only Rod Woodson, Charles Woodson and Darren Sharper had more.

And cornerback Chris Harris Jr. was an All-Decade selection — historically a key resume item for Hall-of-Fame induction. Harris earned that honor by redefining the possibilities for a slot cornerback. Since the AFL-NFL merger, every eligible cornerback or safety to make an All-Decade first team was inducted.

So, the days for Miller, Talib and Harris could well come.

But this day — and this year — belongs to Ware. And he’s the first representative of the Broncos’ finest defense to join the sport’s immortals.

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