TAMPA — The good teams in the NFL can shuffle players like cards. That's what the Bucs spent the weekend doing, and it paid off with them expected to sign safety T.J. Ward.
General manager Jason Licht, having kept $25.5 million in salary cap space for such a transaction, pounced — along with more than a half-dozen other teams — when Ward was released after three seasons with the Broncos on Friday.
Ward, 30, is expected to sign a one-year, $5 million contract with the Bucs, who would add a three-time Pro Bowl player and Super Bowl champion to their secondary one week before the regular-season opener at Miami.