When the Broncos took edge rusher Shane Ray in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, they did so despite already having edge rushers Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware in place. Now Ware is retired, and Ray, who will be counted on more to pick up some slack in Ware’s absence, is thankful for the time the two of them had together.
“He shared a lot of knowledge with me, on how to handle certain situations how to look at things,” Ray told Jim Rome. “His knowledge of the game, teaching me pass rush every day, teaching me keys to look at, things to understand, it was very helpful for me, to come into the league to have a guy of his caliber share that kind of knowledge with me, I really appreciate it.”
Ware also taught Ray about keeping himself in top condition during the offseason.
“Taking care of my body, to my eating habits, my training regiment, how I might go get acupuncture and my diet,” Ray said. “The outside of football things were more impactful to me than I feel like on the field stuff. DeMarcus was teaching me about management of this and that, and kind of going in-depth as a 12-year veteran who has done pretty much everything that I’m setting out to do.”
Last year in Denver, Ware struggled through injuries and started eight games, and Ray started the eight games that Ware didn’t start. This year, the Broncos hope Ray can fill in for Ware permanently, and that the student can become as good a player as the teacher.