ArDarius Stewart (born December 8, 1993) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, and was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the third round of the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

Early life

Stewart attended Fultondale High School in

Fultondale, Alabama Fultondale is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States and a northern suburb of Birmingham. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 8,380. History Fulton was a mining town in the 1900s. Fulton was incorporated in 1947. ...

, a suburb outside of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, where he played on the Wildcats

team. He played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

, and

in high school. Stewart committed to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

to play

under head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

College career

After redshirting his first year at Alabama in 2013, Stewart played in 13 games with two starts in 2014 and recorded 12 receptions for 149 yards. As a sophomore in 2015, he played in all 15 games, recording 63 receptions for 700 yards and four

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. As a junior, he had 54 receptions for 864 yards and nine touchdowns. After the season, Stewart decided to forgo his senior year and enter the

Professional career

New York Jets

Stewart was drafted by the

in the third round (79th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. On May 25, 2017, Stewart signed a four-year deal with the Jets worth $3.25 million. On September 10, Stewart made his NFL debut. He had two receptions for 10 yards in the 21–12 loss to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. Overall, in his rookie season, Stewart finished with six receptions for 82 receiving yards in 15 games. On July 27, 2018, Stewart was suspended for the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. He was waived by the Jets on September 19, and was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was released on October 5.

Oakland Raiders

On November 14, 2018, Stewart was signed to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

' practice squad. He was released by Oakland on November 28.

Washington Redskins

The

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

signed Stewart to their practice squad on December 26, 2018. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Redskins on December 31. The Redskins waived Stewart on January 7, 2019.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On February 27, 2020, Stewart signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL).

BC Lions

On March 14, 2022, Stewart signed with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the CFL. He was released by the Lions on May 30.

DC Defenders

Stewart was assigned to the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the XFL on January 6, 2023. He was removed from the team's roster on January 23.

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ardarius 1993 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football wide receivers DC Defenders players New York Jets players Oakland Raiders players Players of American football from Jefferson County, Alabama Washington Redskins players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players BC Lions Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Alabama