On the field, Gerard Warren relentlessly runs from sideline to sideline, making his presence felt on virtually every play.
Off the field, Warren has the same effect – laughing and talking loudly, much to the delight of his highly entertained teammates.
“Rod Smith told me he’s going to slap the smile off my face because it’s always there,” Warren said. “I can’t help it.”
The enigmatic defensive tackle has taken to his new surroundings since being traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Broncos in early March. Warren, a former Florida star and the No. 3 pick of the 2001 draft, was traded to the Broncos for a fourth-round pick in April’s draft.
The trade seems to have cleansed Warren’s NFL soul. He had felt the weight of the Browns’ success and failure was on him, and that his every step was overly criticized. In Denver he feels wanted and that winning is not foreign.
“I’ve had this smile on my face since March,” said Warren, whose reputation in Cleveland as a tough character and malingerer does not fit his Denver profile.
“My life changed when I came here. I’m back to the guy I was before I got to Cleveland. I’m having fun here. When I come through the doors of this facility every morning, it just puts a huge smile on my face. Why shouldn’t I be happy here? What’s not to like?”
While the regular season is more than a month away, Warren has been one of the most impressive players in Denver’s training camp. And he has the most to prove to coaches because of the cloud that hovered over him in Cleveland.
Never one to put too much public pressure on his players or bellow outrageous predictions, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan raised some eyebrows with lofty statements about Warren last week.
“I’d be disappointed if he’s not in the Pro Bowl,” said Shanahan, who first noticed Warren when the lineman was with the Gators.
Hearing his new coach’s praise seems to fill Warren with pride, not pressure.
“Those are nothing but great words to me,” Warren said. “That’s what I mean about being in a good situation. Everything about this is good.”
Not much was good for Warren the past couple of years in Cleveland. Warren was inconsistent and had a reputation for being mouthy.
“I’ll just say Cleveland was bizarre,” Warren said. “I felt like I was being blamed when things went bad. I was just a bad fit for them.”
The Browns began to shop Warren at the NFL combine at Indianapolis in late February. A trade to the Broncos was finalized days later.
“We think he can be the player he was in college and what he showed at times in Cleveland,” Shanahan said. “He is working very hard in practice, he is moving all over the field. I’m very happy with him.”
Added Denver defensive coordinator Larry Coyer: “I don’t see a lazy player. I see a strong, hungry player.”
And a smiling player.
“I won three straight championships in high school and had success in college,” said Warren, who was limited in practice Monday because of minor hamstring problem. “I’m a winner and I’m a hard worker. That’s all coming back to me in Denver.
“No more bad packages or bad labels on me. It’s a new team, a new year. And I’m coming to play.”
Staff writer Bill Williamsoncan be reached at 303-820-5450 or bwilliamson@denverpost.com.
