Gregory Mario Ward Jr. (born July 12, 1995) 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 ...

for the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

of the United Football League (UFL). 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 ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

as a

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 ...

, and converted to wide receiver after going undrafted following his college career. He was a member of the Eagles'

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 ...

in 2017 when they won

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

. He also played for the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF) in 2019.

Early life

Gregory Mario Ward Jr. was born and raised in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

. One of four children, Ward grew up in a "modest ranch house." Ward's father worked as a truck driver and

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

pastor. Ward graduated from John Tyler High School in 2013. As a senior, he passed for 4,202 yards, 39

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 ...

along with 861 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, and also won Player of the Year in Texas High School football. As a junior, he threw for 3,596 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushed for 1,212 yards with 18 touchdowns. He played

his sophomore year and recorded 53 receptions for 667 yards with eight touchdowns. Ward was rated as a three-star recruit and committed to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

to play

College career

As a true freshman at Houston in 2013, Ward appeared in 10 games as a backup

and wide receiver. He passed for 310 yards with a passing touchdown, rushed for 176 yards with two touchdowns and had 95 receiving yards and a touchdown. Ward started his sophomore year as a starting wide receiver, recording 15 receptions for 139 yards and a touchdown. In October, Ward took over as the starting quarterback, replacing the benched John O'Korn. He started the final eight games, completing 177-of-263 passes for 2,010 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also added 573 rushing yards with six touchdowns. Ward remained Houston's starter his junior year in 2015. He was named the MVP of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game after rushing for 148 yards and two touchdowns. On December 31, 2015, Ward helped the Cougars win the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against No. 9

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

and was named Offensive Player of the Game.

College statistics

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles (first stint)

Ward signed with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2017. He was waived on September 2, 2017 and was signed to the Eagles'

the next day. He was released on September 12, 2017, and was re-signed to the practice squad on September 18. While Ward was on their practice squad, the Eagles defeated the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. Ward signed a reserve/future contract with the Eagles on February 7, 2018. On September 1, 2018, he was waived by the Eagles and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on September 7, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders

On January 1, 2019, Ward signed with the

of the

(AAF). He recorded 22 receptions for 214 yards in the eight games the league lasted.

Philadelphia Eagles (second stint)

After the AAF suspended football operations, Ward re-signed with the Eagles for one year on April 9, 2019. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019, but was re-signed to the team's practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the team's active roster on September 21, following injuries to

DeSean Jackson DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American college football coach and former player who is the Head coach, head football coach at Delaware State Hornets football, Delaware State University. Known for his speed, he is recog ...

and Alshon Jeffery. He made his NFL debut in a Week 3 game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, but was waived again on September 24. He re-signed to the team's practice squad again on September 26. He was promoted to the active roster again on November 23, 2019. He caught six passes in the Eagles 17–9 loss to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, totaling 40 yards. In Week 15 against 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 ...

, Ward caught seven passes for 61 yards and his first touchdown of his NFL career in the Eagles' 37–27 win against the Redskins. Ward finished the 2019 season with 28 receptions for 254 yards. In Week 3 of the 2020 season against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, Ward caught 8 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in the 23-23 tie. In Week 13 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, Ward caught the first career touchdown pass thrown by rookie quarterback

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

during the 30–16 loss. In Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals, Ward caught 4 passes including 2 touchdowns in the 33–26 loss. Ward finished the 2020 season with 53 receptions for 419 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns in 16 games. Ward signed a one-year exclusive-rights free agent tender with the Eagles on March 29, 2021. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Ward took a reserve role in the receiving corps after the Eagles drafted DeVonta Smith. He ended the season with 7 catches for 95 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he was used in trick plays as a passer, ultimately completing one pass for 2 yards. While he initially wasn't tendered by the Eagles in the 2022 offseason, Ward signed a new one-year deal with the team on March 15. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on August 30, 2022. He was released on September 9. On October 24, he was brought back to the practice squad. On August 29, 2023, Ward was waived by the Eagles and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on November 30 and re-signed to the practice squad on December 6. He was not signed to a reserve/future contract after the season and thus became a free agent when his practice squad contract expired.

Indianapolis Colts

On August 14, 2024, Ward signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was released on August 25.

San Antonio Brahmas

On November 21, 2024, Ward signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL).

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Houston Cougars bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Greg 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Tyler, Texas American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Houston Cougars football players Philadelphia Eagles players San Antonio Commanders players Indianapolis Colts players San Antonio Brahmas players