What NFL players are saying about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

We all know what Donald Trump thinks locker-room talk is. Turns out the election is itself the talk of some NFL locker rooms.

Denver Broncos linebacker DeMarcus Ware says he and his teammates discuss politics almost every day. He calls the 2016 race “the most dramatic” he can remember. His election advice: “Think about your morals, what you really believe in, if you’re a Republican or a Democrat.”

USA TODAY Sports talked to 35 players from seven NFL teams and found 14 players who said they plan to vote for Hillary Clinton and three who said they plan to vote for Trump. The rest said they are undecided or unwilling to say how they’ll vote. The sample size is small, but the opinions often acerbically expressed.

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams is undecided — and unhappy. “How many people are in our country, 320 million or something like that?” he said. “And these are the two we’ve come up with? For me it might be a game-time decision.”

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Some undecided voters, such as Bills linebacker Preston Brown, hint which way they might be leaning. “I don’t like anyone,” he said. “Who sucks less? I guess I’ll say Hillary.”

Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe backs Trump. He is worried about pocketbook issues — namely, his own.

“I already pay half my money to the government,” he said. “I shouldn’t have to give any more. … I'm not saying Trump is the best, but I vote Republican every year, no matter what. And this really means a lot to me this year because they're taking 50% of our checks. You want to take 60, 65% of my check now? I can't do that. It's not worth playing the game if I'm going to come out here and take years off my life just so someone else can live.”

Ware said he always votes for Democrats — and will again this election. Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said he is undecided, but taxes also weigh on his mind.

“Hillary says she wants to raise taxes on the wealthy, which of course that affects me,” he said. “But honestly, most of my family isn't wealthy. I'm not going to say I'm OK with (higher taxes), but I'm almost OK with it because it's not going to raise their taxes. … I look at Trump, and it's like a joke. I can't take him seriously. He does a lot of bashing on Hillary, but I don't know, man. It's tough for me to say I'm going to vote for that guy because I can't take him seriously.”

Also undecided is Green Bay Packers defensive end Dean Lowry. “The economy is my top concern,” he said, “like it is for most Americans.”

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Bills fullback Jerome Felton is solidly in Clinton’s corner. “I want someone who’s prepared to do the job, mentally, emotionally,” he said. “I think someone who has had experience dealing with foreign policy and leaders around the world compared to somebody who can be baited by the smallest thing and is erratic.”

Five players on Washington’s NFL team said they plan to vote for Clinton, though none was willing to say so with attribution. One listed his top issue as police shootings while another cited discrimination, including racism, sexism and anti-Islamism.

“She is the better option to lead this country,” Broncos wide receiver Jordan Norwood said of Clinton. “She's held office before and at least knows what it means to be president of the United States.”

Bills guard Richie Incognito, who gave $500 to Trump’s campaign in June, according to federal campaign finance records, said he plans to vote for Trump. “My biggest thing is taxes,” he said, “and creating jobs.”

Bills center Eric Wood is also aboard the Trump train. “I am afraid of what having another Democratic president can do with our taxes,” he said.

One Tennessee Titans player, who declined to give his name, pointedly said there’s a reason for secret ballots and that it would be stupid to discuss presidential politics in the locker room.

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Titans cornerback Jason McCourty declined to say for whom he will vote, but left little doubt for whom he would not: “I can’t stand Trump. That’s it — just not voting for Trump. He don’t like me. I’m going to leave that right where it’s at.”

Similarly, Broncos linebacker Shane Ray said he hasn’t made up his mind if he’ll vote for Clinton, but knows he could never vote for Trump because of that other type of so-called locker-room talk.

“Some people find what (Trump) says to be cool or whatever,” Ray said. “But I just feel like with the whole ‘locker-room talk' thing, if you get put in a situation like that — and that comes out — that's who you are.”

Contributing: Christopher Schnaars, Stu Courtney, Nate Davis, Martin Rogers and Jason Wolf