NFL Notes: Brock Osweiler, T.J. Ward, Broncos, Claims

Brock Osweiler

Broncos QB Brock Osweiler told reporters on Monday that he didn’t take the decision to leave Denver for a big-money deal with the Texans lightly.

“I want people to know that decision didn’t come lightly,” Osweiler said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post. “I didn’t sleep for about a week. I was sick to my stomach every single day. I was a mess. At the end of the day, I tried making the best business decision for myself and my family. Whether I made the best one or not, that could be argued. But the fact of the matter is it was made. I’m not going to live in the past. But I’ve always had nothing but love and appreciation for the Denver Broncos and the city of Denver.”

Osweiler mentioned that he still views himself as an NFL starter, but added that the Broncos are Trevor Siemian‘s team.

“I do see myself as a starter in the National Football League,” Osweiler said, per Jhabvala. “I feel like I proved that back in 2015. However, in saying that, this is Trevor Siemian’s team, and my job is to be the backup of this football team and do it to the best of my ability. Get the scout team running, get our defense ready to go. And I’m going to embrace that role with everything I have because, like I said, I’m so happy to be back here, and there’s no greater place in the NFL.”

• According to Osweiler, there were other offers on the table from different teams, but he told his agent he wanted to be in Denver: “I told my agency… if there’s an offer from Denver, I don’t care if it’s a dollar, that’s where I’m going.” (Ryan Koenigsberg, Nicki Jhabvala)

T.J. Ward

Veteran S T.J. Ward didn’t have a lot of positive things to say about the Broncos and the way they handled his release during his introductory press conference with the Buccaneers on Monday.

“It’s unfortunate the way they handled that situation,” Ward said, via NFL.com. “But it is what it is. And they got live with it. I got to live with it. And we’ll see what happen. But I’m going to make sure that I land on my feet. That’s just me. And whatever happens to them, the [expletive] happens to them. That’s on them.”

“You could have let me know what was going on,” Ward said. “You had a full offseason. I know it’s a business, but when you have good employees, you’re supposed to treat your employees a certain way. And I think they handled it completely unprofessional. That’s just my opinion.”

Claims

• Ian Rapoport reports that the Bills, Jaguars, Colts, Chargers, Jets, and Saints all placed waivers claims for TE James O’Shaughnessy, who wound up being claimed by the Jaguars.
• According to Rapoport, the Lions, Redskins, Vikings, Chargers, and Saints all placed waivers claims for OL Michael Schofield, who wound up going to the Chargers.
• Field Yates reports that the Colts also placed a waiver claim for new Brown WR Kasen Williams.
• According to Manish Mehta, the Jets put in a waiver claim for WR Austin Carr, who was claimed by the Saints.