Safety T.J. Ward signed with the Denver Broncos in free agency this month, but switching teams came as a surprise to him.
Ward, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round in 2010, said in an interview Thursday that he thought he’d be back with his former team, but it became clear that the new regime that took over didn’t want him back.
“I didn’t think I’d be gone but that’s the nature of this business and I’m happy to be with my new home in Denver and just looking forward to continuing a good career and getting better and winning a Super Bowl,” Ward told The SiriusXM Blitz, as transcribed by Cleveland.com.
The popular belief was that Ward was either going to be franchise tagged or signed to a longterm deal, but that didn’t happen.
“The guys that they brought in, the coaches, that whole new genre, they didn’t bring me in,” Ward told Sirius XM. “I was surprised, but that the same time, I wasn’t. You know how it goes. Anything can happen at anytime. Guys come and go, get signed, released, it’s the nature of the business. I was trying to prepare myself and tell myself don’t be surprised, just roll with the punches…”
Just to make sure nobody got the story confused, Ward punctuated matters with this tweet:
Quotes get misunderstood all the time. Just FYI. Cleveland offered me nothing. Boom! There u have it. #GoBroncos
— T.J. Ward (@BossWard43) March 20, 2014
It’s pretty obvious that the Browns, who signed Donte Whitner to a four-year, $28 million contract, had other plans at safety.
Ward may have enjoyed Cleveland and the fans, but there’s little doubt he’s going to a better situation. You can listen to the interview below:
