BEREA, Ohio — T.J. Ward was drafted by the Cleveland Browns and went to the Pro Bowl in 2013. The Browns let him walk as a free agent.
How did that happen? Ward explained on Wednesday.
“I didn’t feel like I was welcome back,” Ward said on a conference call. “That’s pretty much it.”
He wanted to stay, though. Ward said before the end of that season and again on Wednesday he never wanted to leave the Browns or Cleveland. Despite that, Ward said he never got a contract offer that was worth considering.
“It wasn’t brought to me if I did, so that means that it wasn’t even worth bringing up,” he said.
What has Ward done in Denver?
He went to the Pro Bowl last season and this season he is being used all over the field. He has two sacks and a week ago Sunday was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Since 2013, he leads the NFL in combined tackles for a loss (sacks plus run stops) among defensive backs.
Ward represents a group of Browns the past few years who have departed, guys who were drafted, guided and coached the first four years of their careers, then allowed to depart as free agents. the group includes Ward, tight end Jordan Cameron, cornerback Buster Skrine and defensive end Jabaal Sheard.
Every one of their stories is different, their reasons for leaving unique. D’Qwell Jackson and Ward were let go in part because Mike Pettine was coming in as a new coach and he wanted to change the losing culture in the locker room.
Pettine and GM Ray Farmer signed Karlos Dansby and Donte Whitner as free agents to replace that pair — in part because both were veterans who had been with winning teams.
These kinds of decisions are made by all teams, but with the Browns, they illustrate the one major cultural difference between Cleveland and Denver.
“Instability,” Ward said.
Change breeds change. A new coach doesn’t care which players were drafted by another coach or GM. He merely wants his players. In some cases, guys are extended — John Hughes is one example. In others, they are let go. More often than not, the Browns have chased their tail in this cycle since 1999.
On Wednesday, Pettine said the decision on Ward "was made right when I got here."
"I know a lot was made of him and [Colts LB] D’Qwell [Jackson] as guys that have been here for a while [leaving]," Pettine said. "[Ward's] playing at a high level. He’s very much a complete safety. When you talk about guys that are free or strong, he can really do both."
Ward, Sheard (Patriots) and Skrine (Jets) are not superstars. But they are appreciated by each of their teams — and their teams are a combined 12-1.
Ward went to the Pro Bowl for Denver in 2014. He’s now moving all over the Broncos' defense and making big plays almost every week.
“He’s played with his hair on fire the last four weeks,” Denver coach Gary Kubiak said.
Whitner was brought in to replace Ward and was paid a $9 million signing bonus compared to Ward’s $5 million. Ward’s four-year salary of $22.5 million is lower than Whitner’s $28 million, but Ward got $14 million guaranteed compared to Whitner’s $13 million.
The numbers show the Browns wanted a more immediate impact from Whitner, while the Broncos expected Ward to make a long-term contribution.
It took Patriots coach Bill Belichick two days to sign Sheard once he became a free agent. Last week he gushed about Sheard’s contributions.
“He plays on all three downs, so he can play the run well. He's strong, he uses his hands well, he's got good length, he can rush, he's rushed inside, rushed outside, played on the tackle, played on the tight end, played some in there on the guard and some in coverage on certain adjustments we have or certain calls," Belichick said.
"He's done a good job. That's something you didn't really get to see him do in Cleveland. He pretty much always played one spot, left end, pretty much the same technique most of his career.
The Browns expected Scott Solomon to step in for Sheard, but Solomon is out for the season and the Browns lack outside linebackers.
And Skrine has been a welcome presence in New York with the Jets. The Browns replaced him by signing Tramon Williams as a free agent. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Justin Gilbert returns kickoffs.
Gary Barnidge’s numbers certainly make the departure of Cameron more palatable, but Cameron was a guy groomed by the Browns who will contribute elsewhere.
And that is the issue. Losing players who grew up in your system matters. Letting them go after they grow up matters more. Green Bay never signs free agents. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati rarely do. They give their money to the players they have drafted and developed.
The Browns continue to spend money to replace players they have spent four years coaching and developing.
Doing so keeps them running on the the treadmill.
