A very important domino has just fallen for John Elway and the Denver Broncos as Adam Schefter has reported that DeMarcus Ware's contract has been restructured.

Before it had to release him, Denver restructured DeMarcus Ware's contract, keeping him at lower price as 3rd-down rusher, per @Jeff_Legwold — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2016

Jeff Legwold from ESPN reported originally that Ware agreed to the restructure.

Ware and #Broncos finish re-structure, he got 2M to sign ... He and team see his role as third-down rusher. Important player in locker room. — Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) March 12, 2016

He gets a nice bonus, but accepts the lower pay to become the Broncos critical third down pass rush specialist. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Ware agreed to reduce his base salary from $10 million to $6.5 million. Of the amount, $4 million is fully guaranteed, which means he most likely won’t have to worry about being cut on the eve of the start of the regular season.

As for his incentives, Albert Breer has laid them out here.

W/8 sacks, Ware gets $1.25M (total of $7.75M); 9.5 sacks, he gets $2.5M ($9M); 11 sacks, he gets $3M ($9.5M); 13 sacks, he gets $3.5M ($10M) — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 12, 2016

Ware has a critical role as a leader on defense and when paired with Von Miller on the outside a devastating force in the pass rush game. He finished with 7.5 sacks on the season, but added another 3.5 sacks in the postseason during the Broncos history run for the Super Bowl 50 title.

After such a brutal week in free agency, it is good to see the Broncos make some positive headway to retain their some of their best players.

Another step forward for Elway.