ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware took another step in his recovery from a back injury Tuesday and is on track to be ready for the Sept. 8 regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Ware, who has not practiced in training and has been working with the team's strength and conditioning staff, showed his progress in an early morning workout Tuesday. Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said after the team's practice that Ware will be on the practice field soon.
"Close, he's real close,'' Kubiak said. "I think you could see him be a part of the team here in about four to five days, that's what we're thinking. He's made that much progress so hopefully next week I'm sitting here talking about him being in.''
Ware is currently on the team's non-football illness list, was held out of the majority of the offseason program and has not participated in a practice since the Broncos opened training camp practices July 27. Ware missed five games with back troubles last season.
Ware has called this "a lingering back issue'' this time around. For his part, Ware has consistently said in training he believed he would be in uniform for the season opener.
The Broncos are hopeful the handle-with-care approach they've taken with Ware will pay the same kind of dividends this time around as it did last season. After he returned to the lineup after his five-game absence, Ware was one of the Broncos' most effective defenders in the postseason with 3.5 sacks and a team-leading 12 quarterback hits in three postseason games combined.
Ware said recently that he believes he was "about 70 percent" during the playoffs last year. The Broncos project more situational duties for Ware in the pass rush this season and the team will monitor his snaps to try and preserve him to have him in the lineup as many weeks as possible.
This offseason Ware restructured his contract, trimming his base salary as the Broncos were in search of salary-cap space. He does have incentives in the reworked deal as he could earn $1.25 million for eight sacks, $2.5 million for nine sacks, $3 million for 11 sacks and $3.5 million for 13 sacks.
Set to enter his 12th season, Ware has 134.5 sacks, 11th all-time. Julius Peppers, with 136 career sacks, is the only active player ahead of Ware on the league's all-time list.