Jihad Ward
OLB
#52
Experience: 11 years
Height: 6-5
Age: 32
Weight: 285 lbs
College: Illinois
2026 SEASON
- Solo1
- SCK0
- FF0
- INT--
Defense
| YEAR | TEAM | G | Total | Solo | AST | SCK | SFTY | PDEF | INT | TDS | YDS | AVG | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New York Giants | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2025 | Tennessee Titans | 17 | 30 | 14 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |||||
| 2024 | Minnesota Vikings | 17 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 2023 | New York Giants | 17 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2022 | New York Giants | 17 | 35 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |||||
| 2021 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 17 | 32 | 10 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | Baltimore Ravens | 10 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| 2019 | Baltimore Ravens | 11 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| 2018 | Indianapolis Colts | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2017 | Las Vegas Raiders | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2016 | Las Vegas Raiders | 16 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TOTAL | 137 | 187 | 93 | 94 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fumbles
| YEAR | TEAM | G | FUM | LOST | FF | OWN FR | OPP FR | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | New York Giants | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2025 | Tennessee Titans | 17 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | Minnesota Vikings | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | New York Giants | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | New York Giants | 17 | 2 | |||||
| 2021 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 17 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | Baltimore Ravens | 10 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Baltimore Ravens | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | Indianapolis Colts | 6 | 0 | |||||
| 2017 | Las Vegas Raiders | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2016 | Las Vegas Raiders | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTAL | 137 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Biography
Jihad Ward returns to Minnesota for his third stint with the Vikings, including his second of the 2026 season. He signed to Minnesota's practice squad on Sept. 9, 2026, spending three weeks with the team before signing to the New York Giants active roster. Ward appeared in the Giants Week 5 matchup at the Washington Commanders and Week 6 contest against the New Orleans Saints. During the Vikings 14-3 season in 2024, Ward appeared in all 17 games (two starts) and recorded 10 total tackles, including one for loss, 1.0 sack, 14 quarterback hits, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery. Originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (44th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Illinois, Ward has played for the Raiders (2016-17), Indianapolis Colts (2018-19), Baltimore Ravens (2019-20), Jacksonville Jaguars (2021), Giants (2022-23, 2026), Vikings (2024, 2026) and Tennessee Titans (2025).