Jihad Ward ( ; born May 11, 1994) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who has played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for 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 ...

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 ...

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

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

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

, and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. 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

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the College athletics, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's Varsity team, varsity sports. The university op ...

Early life

Ward attended Edward W. Bok Technical High School in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He didn't play football until his sophomore year. He began as a

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 ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

, before being converted into a stand up

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

as a junior. He received second-team All-City (2010) and first-team All-City (2011) honors. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

College career

Ward attended Globe Institute of Technology for two years to improve his grades. In 2013, he played in 7 games, making 26

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

(3 for loss) and 2 sacks. In 2014, he transferred to the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He was named a starter at

in the fourth game of the season. He posted 51 tackles, 3 sacks, 4

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recoveries (led the conference), 2 forced fumbles, and one

pass defended In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

. As a senior, he started all 12 games, playing both at defensive end and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

. He registered 53 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Against the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, he had a career-high 11 tackles, including nine solo. In his last two years, he had 104 tackles, 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and three passes defensed.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of college, most analysts projected Ward to be a second or third round selection. Although analysts had said he has above average athletic ability for a man his size, can play both end spots in a 3–4 or 4–3, is large enough to play defensive tackle in 4–3, and could become a quality pass rusher in the NFL, he was also seen as a developmental project who needs improvement in his power, and has inconsistent balance in contact. Ward was invited to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

and also participated at Illinois'

Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

and even improved on the majority of his combine numbers. Representatives and scouts from all 32 teams showed up at Illinois' Pro Day, which was run by head coach

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach. He has served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL) and the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has be ...

. Defensive line coaches from 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 ...

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 ...

, and the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

came especially to watch Ward perform.

Oakland Raiders

Ward was selected by the

in the second round (44th overall) of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

, after dropping because he had a knee injury that was expected to require

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgery, surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted in ...

. Ward didn't participate much in organized team activities during the offseason. Ward finished his rookie season with 30 tackles in 16 games, 13 of which were starts. On July 6, 2017, it was revealed that he had surgery on his left foot after injuring it during a workout, putting him out of action until mid-August. The injury limited him during the season, playing in only five games and was declared inactive in ten contests.

Dallas Cowboys

On April 28, 2018, the Raiders traded Ward to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in exchange for wide receiver Ryan Switzer. Cowboys defensive coordinator

Rod Marinelli Rodney Henry Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) is a former American football coach. For 48 consecutive years, he had been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when not assigned as ...

coached Ward in the

2016 Senior Bowl The 2016 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2016 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded the ...

. On September 1, 2018, the Cowboys waived Ward during final roster cuts.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 3, 2018, the

signed Ward to their

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 ...

. The team promoted him to the active roster on September 13, 2018. 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 October 26, 2018, with an ankle injury. Despite only playing in six games in the 2018 season, he recorded three sacks. On October 1, 2019, Ward was released by the Colts.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 7, 2019, Ward was signed by the

. In the 2019 season, he appeared in 14 games and had one sack. On March 21, 2020, Ward re-signed with the Ravens. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on November 26, 2020, and activated on December 5, 2020. He appeared in ten games in the 2020 season. He had three sacks, 16 total tackles, and two passes defended.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 17, 2021, Ward signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the

. Ward appeared in all 17 games and started one. He recorded two sacks and 32 total tackles (ten solo).

New York Giants

On March 21, 2022, Ward signed with the

on a one-year contract. He played in 17 games with 11 starts, recording a career-high 43 tackles and three sacks. Ward re-signed with the Giants on March 29, 2023. He played in all 17 games with nine starts. recording a career-high five sacks.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 20, 2024, Ward signed with the

. He finished the 2024 season with one sack, ten tackles, one pass defended, and one fumble recovery.

Personal life

Ward is Muslim. He has said that his name, ''

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

'', which is popular where he was raised in Philadelphia, has been misunderstood due to the negative connotations associated with the term, which has been used to describe Islamic violence against non-Muslims.

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bioIllinois Fighting Illini bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Jihad 1994 births Living people African-American Muslims Players of American football from Philadelphia American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Globe Tech Knights football players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Oakland Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players Indianapolis Colts players Baltimore Ravens players Jacksonville Jaguars players New York Giants players American football outside linebackers Muslims from Pennsylvania Minnesota Vikings players