Report: Broncos’ DeMarcus Ware expected to miss time with back injury

The Denver Broncos are expected to be without pass rusher DeMarcus Ware for some time with a back injury.

The dominant Denver Broncos defense will likely be without DeMarcus Ware for the time being, with the pass rusher expected to miss time with a back injury, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.

Ware leads the Broncos in sacks this year with 6.5, has forced one fumble and made 20 tackles. It would be a big blow to the Denver defense if he is forced to miss any time.

Ware missed the Week 6 contest with the Browns after initially injuring his back the week prior against the Raiders. He only missed one game. Denver takes on Kansas City and Chicago in the next two weeks before the primetime showdown with the undefeated Patriots.

The 33-year-old has been pretty durable throughout his career, only failing to feature in all 16 games in a season once in the ten years prior to this one. But at his age, health is more of a concern and it’s concerning to see him go down with a similar injury to the one he suffered earlier this season.

For the Broncos to be considered legitimate Super Bowl contenders this year, they will need to continue the dominance on defense, and a lot of this is due to the play of Ware. He has only failed to reach the Pro Bowl once since 2006 (2013, when he missed three games) and is a four-time first-team All-Pro.

With 6.5 sacks on the season, he’s at No. 6 in the NFL. Here’s hoping he doesn’t need to miss much time and that he’s healthy for the Patriots showdown. A fully healthy Broncos defense against the Patriots offense will be one of the best contests of the season.