Player
Jihad Ward
EDGE · Titans
Jihad Ward: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
10-year journeyman: 7 different teams, and his best season just came at age 31 in Tennessee.
TrendWard defensive line by season
| Season | Team | Tackles | Sacks | QB Hits | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | LV | 14 | 0.0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2017 | LV | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | IND | 4 | 3.0 | 6 | 3 |
| 2019 | BAL/IND | 4 | 1.0 | 7 | 1 |
| 2020 | BAL | 9 | 3.0 | 8 | 5 |
| 2021 | JAX | 10 | 2.0 | 7 | 3 |
| 2022 | NYG | 23 | 3.0 | 14 | 8 |
| 2023 | NYG | 15 | 5.0 | 9 | 5 |
| 2024 | MIN | 5 | 1.0 | 14 | 1 |
| 2025 | TEN | 14 | 5.0 | 22 | 4 |
Ward's NFL path is the rotational-edge survival story: a 2nd-round pick by Oakland in 2016 who never broke out there, then 9 more seasons across 6 different franchises finding pressure-package roles.
The 2025 Titans season is his peak — 22 QB hits is more than he had in any 3 prior seasons combined.
QB hits per season
| Season | QB Hits |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2022 | 14 |
| 2023 | 9 |
| 2024 | 14 |
| 2024 | 14 |
22 QB hits in 2025 — his career-high by 8, at age 31.
MilestoneBefore 2025, Ward's career-high QB hit total was 14 (in both 2022 and 2024). This year he's at 22 — already 57% above his previous best.
That's an unusual pressure jump for a player on his 7th franchise and 10th NFL season. Some of it is opportunity: the Titans gave him a defined sub-package role. Some of it is the scheme matchup — Tennessee's pass-rush calls put him in advantageous one-on-ones more often than the Vikings did in 2024.
Pressure per tackle: 1.57 QB hits per tackle in 2025 — a pure rusher profile.
SplitQB hits / tackles ratio by season
| Season | QB Hits | Tackles | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 (NYG) | 14 | 23 | 0.61 |
| 2023 (NYG) | 9 | 15 | 0.60 |
| 2024 (MIN) | 14 | 5 | 2.80 |
| 2025 (TEN) | 22 | 14 | 1.57 |
In his Giants years Ward played roughly half pass-rusher, half run-defender. The Vikings used him as a pure pass-rush specialist (5 tackles, 14 QB hits — extreme ratio).
Tennessee has dialed it back: he's still hitting QBs at high volume but is playing more snaps in run defense too, with the tackle count climbing back to 14. That's a more durable role and likely why his pressure numbers got to a career-high — more opportunities, not just narrower ones.
24.0 career sacks across 10 seasons — but 10 of them came in the last 3 years.
AnomalyWard career splits: first 7 years vs. last 3
| Period | Seasons | Sacks | QB Hits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-2022 | 7 | 13.0 | 53 |
| 2023-2025 | 3 | 11.0 | 45 |
Ward took until age 28 to find consistent NFL footing. 2023-2025 has produced more sacks (11) and almost as many QB hits (45) as his first seven seasons combined (13 sacks, 53 hits).
The late-career arc is real. He hit free agency in 2024 still considered a rotational piece; if 2025 holds up, he's probably going to get one more multi-year contract from someone — a 10-year journeyman riding a career-best pressure number into his early 30s.
7 different franchises across 10 seasons — survival as a craft.
RareWard's franchise tour
| Years | Team |
|---|---|
| 2016-2017 | Raiders |
| 2018 | Colts |
| 2019 | Ravens/Colts |
| 2020 | Ravens |
| 2021 | Jaguars |
| 2022-2023 | Giants |
| 2024 | Vikings |
| 2025 | Titans |
Most 2nd-round picks don't bounce through 7 franchises — they either bust out and leave the league or get one big extension and stay. Ward's path is the third option: keep getting one-year prove-it deals from a different team each cycle and keep producing enough pressure to justify the next one.
The 2025 Tennessee year is the strongest argument yet that this kind of journeyman edge can have a real second wind in his 30s.
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