When the Bucs were thrown a curveball by the NFL and learned their bye week would be opening week instead of Nov. 19, a lot of Bucs fans thought this could be good for safety T.J. Ward.

Ward, a formidable safety, was acquired when it seemed he was a Broncos salary cap causality as teams whittled their rosters to mandatory 53-man units.

The extra week, on face value, seemed a good thing for Ward, who is new to Mike Smith’s defense. Remember, it wasn’t until after the Bucs bye week last year before the defense had a grasp of its duties. And the results were a night-and-day difference.

Yesterday, Smith was asked how much of a help the extra week was for Ward. It helped, Smith said, but only a little.

Ward wasn’t able to get on the practice field for a lot of reasons including that it was a bye week and per the NFLPA labor agreement, teams are required to give players four days off in the bye week. So Ward, until yesterday for the first time since the team was excused last week, wasn’t able to apply what he learned on tape and in a classroom to the practice field.

“It will help him,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get on the field and get him some snaps.”

What has helped Ward, Smith said, is he played with Jack Del Rio in Denver one year. Smith was Del Rio’s defensive coordinator in Jacksonville so there are some similarities between Smith’s defense and Del Rio’s.

Smith said the next three days of practice will determine how much Ward can be used Sunday.