BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Denzel Ward is ready to roll again.
After returning to practice this week, Ward will play Sunday in Miami after missing the previous three games due to a concussion.
“Yes sir. Can’t wait,” Ward said Thursday.
“I haven't been enjoying just sitting around the house watching. So I'm just glad to be back with the guys. I'm glad to be playing football again.”
Ward hasn’t played since having to leave a 30-28 loss to the Chargers on October 9.
What a welcome back Ward gets this weekend. The two-time Pro Bowler will be tossed right back in the fire and tasked with trying to help neutralize Miami’s dynamic receiving duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
“It is exciting, it's fun,” Ward said.
Hill, thought as one of the fastest, if not the fastest receiver in the game, already has 76 catches for 1,104 yards and three touchdowns while Waddle has 812 yards on 47 catches and six scores this season.
“You guys see, he's a fast, talented player out there able to take the ball to the house whenever he gets it in his hands,” Ward said of Hill. “So I'm looking forward to the match up, looking forward to going out there going against those guys. I mean, these are games that you make a name for yourself, so I'm looking forward to it.”
The concussion for Ward was the third documented one of his career. He suffered two as a rookie that cost him three of the final four games of that 2018 Pro Bowl campaign.
“Just trying to take care of my health and take care of my brain,” Ward said. “Was just trying to find ways to treat the brain in a sense. I was just doing things like getting in the hyperbaric chamber and light therapy, staying out of the light and loud noises and stuff like that. Just trying to do whatever I can personally to help heal it.”
Ward believes the head injury against the Chargers was the result of hitting his head on the ground after attempting to make a tackle.
“It wasn’t a hit on the helmet,” Ward said. “It was when I went down to the ground my head hit off the ground. I went over to the sideline, and they diagnosed me as having a concussion.”
Protecting players who suffer concussions has been top of mind for the NFL in recent years, and as Ward explained about his most recent road back, for good reason.
“Throughout that whole time, I was having headaches, having headaches every day and then in the protocol if you're having any symptoms, you're not able to really progress,” Ward said. “So I was kind of concerned a little bit, just like. when are these headaches gonna go away? When I gonna start feeling better? But I was able to overcome that and glad to be here now.”
In November 2017, the Browns and NFL came under heavy criticism for allowing a concussed Colt McCoy to return to a game shortly after Steelers linebacker James Harrison blew him up with a vicious hit. Since then, the NFL has implemented a variety of protocols related to recognizing concussions during games or practice as well as defining a path for players to be eligible to safely return to action.
This year the league once again came under fire after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to a game in which he appeared to be weary after a hit, which forced another adjustment to the heath and safety protocols.
Ward acknowledged he is not sure how many more concussions he can afford to suffer without compromising not just his career, but quality of life when his playing days are over.
“That's probably some good information to know,” Ward said. “I'll probably have to go find that out, but I'm just glad to be back and playing football, playing the game I love. So that's really my main focus.”