Ring of Honor is in DeMarcus Ware's future even if he's gone for good from Cowboys' roster
RAINER SABIN Staff writer
rsabin@dallasnews.com
Published: 11 March 2014 08:39 PM
Updated: 12 March 2014 06:54 AM
On multiple occasions Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called DeMarcus Ware a cornerstone player for the franchise. Ware certainly fit that bill throughout his tenure that ended with his release Tuesday.
Nine years ago, Ware was drafted to be the linchpin in the new 3-4 defense the team was installing for the first time ever. Designated a starter from Day One, Ware made an immediate impact. He collected a club-record 117 sacks and earned seven Pro Bowl invitations, developing into one of the game’s best players.
“I’ve been around special,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said last summer. “He’s special.”
Consideration for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame figures to be in Ware’s future. So is placement in the Cowboys’ hallowed Ring of Honor.
In an era when quarterbacks throw the ball all over the field and dominate the action, pass rushers are coveted. And few have been as disruptive as Ware.
“He brings it every day, he brings it every snap,” coach Jason Garrett said last August. “He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s explosive, he’s strong, he’s long.”
But he’s not perfect. In recent years, Ware has failed to change the course of games like a star defender should.
Besides his interception on the first play from scrimmage in a season-opening victory over the New York Giants last September, it’s hard to recall a defining moment since his inspirational performance in a stunning win over New Orleans in 2009. In that game, Ware sacked Drew Brees twice and forced two fumbles less than a week after being carted off the field with a sprained neck. For a player who missed only three regular-season games in nine seasons, his effort that day demonstrated his grittiness and mental fortitude.
That season, Ware helped lead the Cowboys to their only playoff victory since 1996. Far too many times, he was part of disappointing teams that experienced only a smidgeon of success. Since Ware joined the Cowboys, they are 81-63, made the playoffs three times but never advanced beyond the divisional round.
Like tight end Jason Witten, Ware had the misfortune of playing during one of the barren eras of the franchise. Only two of the 20 inductees in the Ring of Honor — Don Meredith and Don Perkins — are not associated with a Super Bowl-winning team.
If this is indeed the final chapter of Ware’s time with the Cowboys, then he could share that dubious distinction.
It’s all part of Ware’s record — one that still scintillates considering all he has accomplished during a memorable career in Dallas.
