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Five teams that should try to trade for T.J. Ward

By Sayre Bedinger

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 30: Strong safety T.J. Ward #43 of the Denver Broncos intercepts the ball in the third quarter of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 30, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 30: Strong safety T.J. Ward #43 of the Denver Broncos intercepts the ball in the third quarter of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 30, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /
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The Denver Broncos are reportedly discussing the possibility of trading T.J. Ward among other NFL teams. Here are five who could use him…

DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 30: Strong safety T.J. Ward #43 of the Denver Broncos intercepts the ball in the third quarter of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 30, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 30: Strong safety T.J. Ward #43 of the Denver Broncos intercepts the ball in the third quarter of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 30, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rumors have started swirling ahead of the Denver Broncos’ fourth preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals that starting strong safety T.J. Ward could be traded.

The Broncos have two safeties in Justin Simmons and Will Parks behind Ward on the depth chart that deserve more snaps, and will get them, which could be prompting these rumors.

Ward is also in the final year of a free agent deal he signed with the Denver Broncos back in their vaunted class of 2014. He carries a $5.75 million cap hit, and the Broncos would absorb $1.25 million in dead money if they were to get rid of him in any capacity.

Multiple outlets have reported that the Broncos are at least receiving calls about Ward, and others have stated that they are the ones initiating the calls.

Regardless of which way the calls are going, we’re going to explore some options of where the Broncos could trade Ward, starting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs are an interesting trade partner because after just drafting O.J. Howard in the first round, they could potentially be convinced to part with tight end Cameron Brate, who was excellent as a receiver last season. Brate would be a nice addition to the passing game in Denver.

The question is, would the Bucs view Ward as an upgrade in their secondary? Would getting rid of Brate be worth one year of Ward?

The Bucs could also send a draft pick Denver’s way, but it probably wouldn’t be much. They’d be looking for a nice value to take Ward off of Denver’s hands. I would say that type of deal is unfortunately what we are most likely looking at, but you never know.

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