T.J. Ward agrees to deal with Broncos, not Lions

Safety T.J. Ward's name came up multiple times in the last few days as a possible option for the Detroit Lions. They were first connected to Ward over the weekend, and Jason La Canfora actually said on Tuesday morning that the Lions had "strong interest" in Ward.

The Lions may have been interested in Ward, but Ward apparently ended up having more interest in the Denver Broncos. A little more than an hour after the start of free agency, Ward agreed to a deal with the Broncos. The exact terms of the deal aren't known at this point, but Mary Kay Cabot reports that Ward's contract is believed to be worth an average of only $5.5 million a year.

Ward was expected to command a lot more than $5.5 million a year, so it looks like he may have taken a discount to join Peyton Manning and last season's AFC champions. On the one hand, this could be viewed as a positive in the sense that the Lions definitely could have afforded Ward at that cost. Then again, if he took a discount simply to join a team that was just in the Super Bowl, that unfortunately doesn't mean anything for the Lions.

With Ward out of the picture, the Lions may be turning their attention to safety Chris Clemons. He is reportedly drawing interest from the Lions, and it's possible that things could start developing on that front quite soon.