{"id":943834,"date":"2026-07-12T20:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T20:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/943834\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T20:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T20:33:24","slug":"denzel-ward-wanted-by-nfl-franchises-but-browns-likely-to-shut-the-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/943834\/","title":{"rendered":"Denzel Ward wanted by NFL franchises but Browns likely to shut the door"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tampa Bay is the first team mentioned in the report. After Jamel Dean\u2019s departure, Tampa Bay is looking to add experience to its young secondary, and Ward would be a strong fit alongside Zyon McCollum, Benjamin Morrison, and Jacob Parrish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Green Bay is another team mentioned in the report. After defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley\u2019s departure, Green Bay reshaped its secondary by moving on from Nate Hobbs, signing Benjamin St-Juste, and drafting Brandon Cisse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if those moves work out, the report notes that cornerback remains one of the Packers\u2019 biggest needs, which could make Ward a strong fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Detroit Lions also make the list. As per the report, Detroit has questions at cornerback after the Terrion Arnold situation.<\/p>\n

With rookie Keith Abney II expected to start opposite D.J. Reed, Ward would add valuable experience to the defense.<\/p>\n

With Ward still playing at a high level and wanting to stay in Cleveland, trading him does not make much sense.\u00a0As the 2026 season gets closer, Ward is expected to remain in Cleveland despite interest from other teams.<\/p>\n

While Ward appears likely to remain in Cleveland, staying put could bring a different kind of challenge as expectations rise entering the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL analyst explains why Denzel Ward could face more pressure in 2026<\/p>\n

According to Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report<\/a>, Denzel Ward could face much more pressure during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Davenport believes the Browns\u2019 five-time Pro Bowler may have to shoulder a bigger responsibility in the secondary if Cleveland\u2019s pass rush is not as effective this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Cleveland\u2019s pass rush tails off,\u201d Davenport wrote, \u201cWard and the rest of the secondary will be under far more pressure than in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davenport still believes Ward remains one of the Browns\u2019 biggest defensive strengths. <\/p>\n

He noted that Cleveland has enough talent to remain a top-10 defense, with Ward continuing to lead the secondary alongside young defenders Jared Verse and Carson Schwesinger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added that if the Browns\u2019 pass rush declines, the secondary will face greater pressure.<\/p>\n

Trade speculation may continue, but Ward\u2019s immediate future still appears to be in Cleveland. If that remains the case, his biggest storyline in 2026 won\u2019t be where he plays, but how he handles the added responsibility in the Browns\u2019 secondary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay is the first team mentioned in the report. After Jamel Dean\u2019s departure, Tampa Bay is looking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943835,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":["post-943834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cleveland-browns","tag-browns","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-clevelandbrowns","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116908916963147768","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}