Is DeMarcus Ware healthy?
Aside from Von Miller, there wasn’t a defensive player in the NFL that had a better playoff run than DeMarcus Ware. He was … other worldly, really. He looked like he was 26 again, not 33 and dealing with a serious back injury.
But that’s exactly what he is: 33 and dealing with a serious back injury.
All you have to do is read this June quote from John Elway to understand just how severe the concerns are.
“Yeah, there’s always a concern with that,” Elway said, via The Denver Post. “Especially with the back, because you never really know. And he’s such an integral part of it and his leadership qualities, so obviously we’re hopeful he can get that going. We’re going to manage him, and we knew that coming in this year, to take care of him. Yeah, there’s a little bit of a concern there.”
He didn’t even try to spin it! He didn’t say, “Oh, we’re not worried about DeMarcus. He’ll be ready by training camp,” or “Everybody’s dealing with something at this point in their career. He’ll be fine.”
No. Instead, he said that there was legitimate concern over whether Ware will make it out onto the field.
Now, I have no doubt that Ware will play this season, and I have no doubt that he’ll be effective when he’s on the field; the question is how long can he stay out there?
I don’t know that answer, and it doesn’t appear as if Elway and the Broncos do, either.
