Position: Strong safety Height 1.78 m College: Oregon Weight 91 kg | Name T. Ward Education University of Oregon Role American football safety Siblings Terron Ward | |
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Date of birth: (1986-12-12) December 12, 1986 (age 29) Place of birth: San Francisco, California High school: Concord (CA) De La Salle NFL draft: 2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38 Current team Denver Broncos (#43 / Safety) Similar People Danny Trevathan, Aqib Talib, DeMarcus Ware, Chris Harris - Jr, Bradley Roby Profiles | ||
Terrell Ray "T. J." Ward Jr. (born December 12, 1986) is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Denver Broncos, with whom he won Super Bowl 50.
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Early years
Ward played high school football at prep powerhouse De La Salle during their 151-game winning streak. An injury early in his senior year deterred many scouts, leading him to walk-on with the Oregon Ducks. He did not move up in the starting lineup until his senior year due to the talent on the team
Cleveland Browns
Ward was drafted 38th overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft. He started all 16 games of his rookie season, recording 123 combined tackles and 2 interceptions. Ward gained national recognition for an illegal hit on Bengals receiver Jordan Shipley, where he had a helmet to helmet hit to force the ball out of Shipley's hands. Ward was fined for the hit.
Ward stepped into a larger role in 2011, but injuries held him to only 8 games. He finished the season with 39 tackles, and a sack.
Ward returned to form in 2012, starting 14 games and was quite good in coverage. As an up-and-coming player, he finished with 68 tackles, a sack, and an interception.
Ward had a breakout season in 2013, starting all 16 games and earning Second-Team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press. He finished the year with 123 Tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 10 passes defended.
Denver Broncos
On March 11, 2014, Ward signed with the Denver Broncos on a four-year, $23 million contract. On December 24, he earned a second consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl.
Ward had 61 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and six passes defended in the 2015 NFL season. The Broncos finished with the #1 defense and a 12-4 record. At the end of the season, Ward was selected to play in his third consecutive Pro Bowl but was unable to attend due to his team's playoff finish. In the Divisional round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ward recorded four tackles in a 23-16 victory. In the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, Ward had six tackles before having to leave the game with an ankle injury and did not return. The Broncos later went on to win the game 20-18. Ward returned to play in the Broncos 24-10 victory in Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers, where he recorded seven tackles, a pass defended, a fumble recovery, and an interception. He was ranked 68th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.
On September 2, 2017, Ward was released by the Broncos.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On September 3, 2017, Ward signed a one-year deal worth $5 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Personal life
Ward is brother of current Atlanta Falcons running back Terron Ward and is the god brother of former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew.