Teammates ‘hope’ Ward didn’t just play final game with Broncos

More than 1,000 players across the NFL will be either temporarily or permanently shown the door between now and Saturday, which reports indicate would be the case for one member of the Denver Broncos “No Fly Zone”: T.J. Ward.

After reports on Tuesday the Broncos had not only received but were making calls to teams about a trade involving the eight-year safety, Ward’s name was on the lips of reporters, analysts, fans, a perhaps more than any other Broncos player not named Kyle Sloter.

And following Thursday’s 30-2 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Denver’s preseason finale, Ward’s name was heard often from his defensive teammates, along with wishes of him remaining with the Broncos.

“I spent the last three years with him. It can’t be real. He’s such an impactful player on and off the football field; in and out of the locker room for the Denver Broncos,” linebacker Von Miller said after the game.

“It’s just the nature of the National Football League. You can only control what you can control.”

Darian Stewart, who patrols the Denver defensive secondary alongside Ward, expressed a similar line of thinking.

“I am just hoping it is just not true. We do a good job working together, and I am just hoping it is not true,” Stewarts said, “and we are getting ready for the season and we expect him to be with us.”

Stewart said he didn’t know if the Broncos brass would listen to the players, but parting with Ward, either by release or trade, is going to “impact a lot.”

“It’d suck to see him go, but at the end of the day, he helped me understand that this was a business from Day One. He was like, ‘Look, they brought you in. I’ve got to teach you everything I know,’” safety Will Parks said after the game.”

Safety Justin Simmons, who’d likely be the man to replace Ward in the Broncos secondary, called the situation “crazy,” especially how Ward works well alongside his teammates.

“You’re talking about messing with the chemistry of the defense and the chemistry he has with so many guys in this locker room, and so we’ll see what happens,” Simmons said after the game Thursday. “It’s crazy.”

After the game, however, head coach Vance Joseph said he did not have anything to say regarding trade speculation regarding Ward.

“Nothing on that. Again, it is going to be a long weekend of a lot of transactions, so I cannot speak to that,” Joseph said. “At the end of the day, we want the best guys for our football team, and if he is one of them, he will be.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.