The next time Nik Bonitto sacks a quarterback, watch closely and see if it conjures up memories of DeMarcus Ware. 

Ware played his final game as an outside linebacker for the Broncos in 2016 and Bonitto was a Denver rookie at the position in 2022. But with the Hall of Famer having returned to town on several occasions in recent years for alumni functions, he has become a mentor to the Broncos star. 

“(Bonitto) reached out and said, ‘Hey man, let me know what you think of this,’ and for me that’s a cool thing for me because I’m like, ‘Hey, listen, I’m going to tell you everything I know because I want for you to be a baller,'” Ware told The Denver Gazette about Bonitto having been in regular contact with him in recent years. 

Bonitto, 26, has become a baller, and Ware expects he will continue to get better. Bonitto was named second-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl last season, when he had 13.5 sacks. Entering Sunday’s game at Philadelphia, he has 4.5 sacks, tied for third in the NFL, and leads the league with 27 quarterback pressures. 

Ware starred for the Dallas Cowboys from 2005-13 and for the Broncos from 2014-16, winning a Super Bowl with them in the 2015 season and being inducted in 2023 into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So what are some of the pointers he has given Bonitto?  

“Just about his get-off and also just keeping his motor going and working on his underneath move,” said Ware, who lives in the Dallas area. “Even if he’s not as good at (the underneath move) right now, being young he can still put that in his arsenal, so they don’t have a beat on him.” 

Ware had 138.5 career sacks, ninth in NFL history, including 20 for the Cowboys in 2008. He was known for his quick get-off from the line of scrimmage, something Bonitto also is mastering. 

“He’s moving a little bit before the ball (is snapped) like I used to, like Von (Miller) still does,” said Ware, referring to the star pass rusher who was his teammate on the Broncos and is now with Washington. “That can’t be taught. That has to be you studying so much during the week that you can anticipate the voice inflection of the quarterback, the leaning of the left tackle and all the little movements on the front line.” 

Ware calls it a “triangle” what he did with pass rushing and what Bonitto also has been doing with great efficiency. 

“The three things are the center, the quarterback and the guy you’re going against,” Ware said. “All those things start moving before the ball (is snapped). … You move a split second before the ball is snapped. It looks like you’re getting off faster than everybody but it’s your anticipation. I call it the gunslinger mentality. … It’s how fast you can draw and (Bonitto) does that very well.” 

Ware said the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Bonitto is ideally suited to be a terror to opposing quarterbacks. 

“He’s got the right size, and he has the athleticism and he’s very flexible,’’ Ware said. “What I mean by flexible is being able to bend the corner. And he has great power. People don’t see that. It’s real subtle but he can power through those tackles. … He has the heart of a pass rusher and that type of heart that (says) I will never be stopped.” 

Ware has been thrilled with Bonitto’s work ethic but still provides him with tips along those lines. 

“It’s ‘E’ and ‘A,’ effort and your attitude,’’ Ware said about what he stresses. “If your effort is always 100% and your attitude is always positive and you never let any of the offensive plays get in your way, your anticipation can always be high because you have hyper focus on every play.” 

Bonitto has improved rapidly in recent seasons, going from 1.5 sacks as a rookie in 2022 to eight in 2023 and then having his breakout year in 2024. He is grateful for anything he can learn from Ware. 

“Great rusher,” Bonitto said. “Anything he wants to give me to help me out, I’ll take.” 

Bonitto soon could get some in-person tips from Ware. Ware will be in Denver in two weeks when the Broncos have a 10-year reunion of the team that defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50, a game in which Ware had two sacks. Returning members of the team will be introduced at halftime of Denver’s game against the New York Giants on Oct. 19 at Empower Field at Mile High. 

Bonitto does wonder if he will get any tips from Ware for Denver’s game after that, Oct. 26 against Dallas at home. After all, Ware played a lot longer for the Cowboys than for the Broncos. 

“You know, if he asks, I’ll give them,” Ware said with a laugh. 

What I’m hearing 

—How important is it for former Broncos tackle Ryan Harris to be at the 10-year reunion for the Super Bowl 50 winners? Harris, in his eighth season as a radio analyst for alma mater Notre Dame, will miss the Fighting Irish’s Oct. 18 home game against USC so he can take part in all reunion activities, running Oct. 17-19. “It’s the first game I’m not calling in years for Notre Dame,” said Harris, who played for the Broncos from 2007-10 and in 2015. “I missed one game due to (coronavirus restrictions in 2020). At the beginning of the year, I told them, ‘Hey we have a reunion,’ and everybody understands how rare it is (to win a Super Bowl). I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

—Bonitto laughed when asked about Broncos coach Sean Payton playing Philadelphia’s fight song “Fly Eagles Fly” in practice leading into Sunday’s game. “I hate it when Sean does that but it gets you ready for sure,” Bonitto said. The outside linebacker is very confident entering the game against the defending Super Bowl champions. When asked if the Eagles are beatable, he said, “Oh, yeah. I know we’re going to have a good game plan and it’s going to be a good game.” 

What I’m seeing 

—After signing as a free agent last March, tight end Evan Engram hasn’t done a lot in his first three games with the Broncos, having eight catches for 62 yards. But Payton doesn’t seem too concerned about Engram, who for Jacksonville in 2023 caught 114 passes, the second-most for an NFL tight end, for 963 yards. “There’s times where, yeah, you definitely look to involve him, but we don’t come off a game like last week and then look at who got touches,” Payton said about Engram having four catches for 29 yards against the Bengals. “We’re not playing the fantasy game. We’re trying to win.”  

Engram, who played for the Giants from 2017-21 and Jaguars from 2022-24, at least will face Sunday a foe he has seen plenty. In eight career games, against the Eagles, a rival of the Giants in the NFC East, he has 34 catches for 308 yards. 

—Payton has been doing his best to make sure his players aren’t thinking about their trip to London before the game against the Eagles. The Broncos will leave Philadelphia Sunday night and arrive Monday morning in London in preparation for next Sunday’s game against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Linebacker Alex Singleton said players brought in their bags for London on Friday, when they flew from Denver to Philadelphia, “but we’re not seeing those until Monday.” Singleton said it was easy to not be distracted entering a game against the 4-0 Eagles. “This is a huge game for us’’ he said. “It almost makes it better that it’s not a lower-tier team in this league. We’re playing the best of the best. If you’re not focused for this game, there’s probably something wrong with you.”