Tag: Tim Ward

Giants work out a pair of defensive linemen

The New York Giants hosted a pair of defensive linemen for a tryout in East Rutherford on Tuesday.

The New York Giants may be headed into the offseason but there’s still work to be done in terms of personnel. They’ve already signed 12 total players to reserve/futures deals and are on the hunt for more.

On Tuesday in East Rutherford, the Giants hosted a pair of defensive linemen on a tryout basis: defensive tackle Carlos Davis and defensive end Tim Ward.

The 6-foot-2, 320-pound Davis was a seventh-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2020 NFL draft. He’s appeared in 12 career games, recording 12 tackles (three for a loss), one QB hit, and one sack.

Ward, who is 6-foot-6 and 255 pounds, signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He spent two seasons with the Chiefs before making stops with the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers.

In 12 career games, Ward recorded 17 tackles (one for a loss), two QB hits, one sack, and two passes defensed.

Neither player was immediately signed to a contract.

[lawrence-related id=705595,705556,705543]

[listicle id=705549]

Jets exercise exclusive rights options for 3 players

The Jets exercised exclusive rights options on CB Javelin Guidry, DE Tim Ward and WR Jeff Smith.

The Jets have exercised exclusive rights options on DE Tim Ward, WR Jeff Smith and CB Javelin Guidry, according to the New York Post’s Brian Costello.

The Jets also exercised S Elijah Riley’s exclusive rights option earlier this offseason.

Guidry played in all 17 games for the Jets in 2021, including three starts. He combined for 48 tackles and three defended passes over 486 snaps. Ward played in 11 games for the Jets and tallied 12 tackles over 191 snaps. Smith caught eight receptions for 131 yards in 12 games, including three starts at the end of the 2021 season.

[listicle id=677794]

Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with DE Tim Ward?

The Jets claimed Tim Ward off waivers before the beginning of last season in an effort to bolster their pass rush. Should he return in 2022?

Before Joe Douglas can focus on external targets, he has a handful of impending in-house free agents to evaluate.

The Jets have more than a few players set to hit the open market this offseason. Some won’t factor into New York’s plans for 2022, while others, it’s safe to assume, the Jets would like to keep around for a while. Either way, Douglas has a lot of work to do to put together a competitive roster for Robert Saleh’s second year at the helm.

The Jets claimed Tim Ward off waivers before the beginning of last season in an effort to bolster their pass rush. Should the exclusive rights free agent return in 2022? Jets Wire evaluates the situation in its latest free agent profile.

4 things to know about new Jets DE Tim Ward

Get to know new Jets defensive end Tim Ward.

Joe Douglas took another crack at trying to find a pass rusher who can help replace the injured Carl Lawson after roster cuts, claiming Tim Ward off waivers from the Chiefs.

Ward had a solid summer with Kansas City, but the defending AFC champions have plenty of depth, which made him expendable. The Jets pounced on Ward once his name hit the waiver wire, giving them a high-upside pass rusher.

Here are a few things to know about Ward and what he could bring to New York’s defensive line in 2021.

Chiefs GM Brett Veach explains decision to cut standout DE Tim Ward

Cutting Tim Ward wasn’t an easy decision, but weighing all the options #Chiefs GM Brett Veach thought it was the right one. | from @TheJohnDillon

[mm-video type=video id=01fehjgmcnchdphxn5kv playlist_id=01eqbwa53mtds520q2 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fehjgmcnchdphxn5kv/01fehjgmcnchdphxn5kv-3d30e125655e57edb81ba7d384708647.jpg]

Reducing a roster from 90 to 53 players is always tough for NFL teams, but Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach had a particularly tall task this year. Not only is the team expected to make another run at the Lombardi trophy this season, but the sheer amount of talent on the roster in the preseason left Veach with no easy cuts when Tuesday’s deadline arrived.

The Chiefs’ perfect record in the preseason was a testament to the exceptional team they assembled in the offseason. The improvement on defense in their three exhibition games was due in no small part to several of the players they released in recent weeks. Former first-round pick Taco Charlton was the first big name to see his time with the Chiefs come to an abrupt end before the team’s matchup against Minnesota last week, which was the canary in the coalmine on the defensive line heading into final cuts.

Tim Ward, who accrued three sacks in Kansas City’s three-game preseason, seemed like a lock to make the Chiefs’ roster this season. Veach explained the decision to cut Ward in comments to the media Wednesday in a press conference after cuts were announced. He told reporters that it wasn’t an easy call, and didn’t seem surprised that Ward was one of the first players claimed via waiver.

“Tim (Ward) had a great camp,” Veach said of the second-year lineman, “In regard to his play and production he can only line up there and play against the guy that is lined up against him. He took advantage of that and certainly other teams noticed. I know the Jets claimed him and they were certainly up there on the waiver wire, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were actually other teams that put in for him too and did get to him. I think it’s a combination of being committed to keeping 10 linemen, four tight ends so it comes down to the play and consistency of a player like (Jody) Fortson, guys like (Daurice) Fountain and then stacking them all up together and just saying now moving forward where are we and how can they contribute not just on gameday, but on special teams.”

Positional versatility is at an all-time premium for Kansas City, and the move to cut Ward was proof that they’re serious about getting production from all players on the roster, not just their stars. Veach said he wishes nothing but the best for Ward’s time with the Jets, and emphasized how hard it was to whittle the roster down to 53 players.

“It was definitely a tough decision,” Veach said of the final cuts, “He (Ward) certainly had a case to be on this team and again other teams took notice of that too. It comes down to guys like Fountain, guys like Fortson and then Chris Lammons is another guy that is one of the better gunners in the league too.  Again, tough decisions. There were a couple of guys, if I had to guess, a couple of guys that will probably get claimed, Tim would’ve been right there at the top of the list. We talked about that last night too, so I don’t think we thought we would get him through because usually offensive linemen and defensive linemen are the first guys to go. Every team wants to keep as many as they can, so that wasn’t surprising that he got claimed. Happy for him and hope it works out well in New York.”

Kansas City will rely on veteran Alex Okafor, second-year end Mike Danna and rookie Joshua Kaindoh as backups behind their star pass rushers on the defensive line. While the decision to cut Ward certainly wasn’t easy, the Chiefs were unlikely to carry six defensive ends and still have depth elsewhere to compete at a high level.

[listicle id=97446]

Chiefs lose CB BoPete Keyes to Colts, DE Tim Ward to Jets on waivers

The #Chiefs have seemingly lost two players to waiver claims, including a preseason standout and a former seventh-round draft pick.

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost a pair of players on waivers, including a preseason standout and former seventh-round draft pick.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, CB BoPete Keyes and DE Tim Ward were both claimed on waivers. Ward was claimed by the New York Jets, who recently lost DE Carl Lawson for the season. Keyes was claimed by the Indianapolis Colts, who infamously have former Chiefs front-office executive Chris Ballard as their general manager.

Keyes was a former 2020 seventh-round draft pick, one that the Chiefs traded back into the draft to get.

Developing…

3 defensive ends Chiefs could trade to the Jets after Carl Lawson injury

One of these three #Chiefs defensive ends could be tempting for the #Jets in a trade after injury to star pass rusher Carl Lawson. | from @TheJohnDillon

As the second round of preseason cuts approaches, the Kansas City Chiefs have found themselves in an enviable position with their depth on the defensive line. Kansas City’s commitment to revamping their defense has left them with bodies to spare, especially at defensive end, and as unfortunate injuries have begun decimating some teams’ depth charts, trades could be in order to avoid tough decisions in building the 53-man roster.

Chris Jones was converted to play the end position in the offseason, and pass rush mainstay Frank Clark will play opposite him on the line this season. The Chiefs will definitely place a high value on rotational and backup linemen in case of injury. No matter what, they’ll still have too many cooks in the kitchen, and would be wise to maximize value on any of their surplus of talent before another suitor takes their chance.

The New York Jets were struck a devastating blow when star pass-rusher Carl Lawson was injured during practice last week, finding themselves in dire need of help at one of the Chiefs’ deepest positions. Though predicting trades is a fool’s errand, the tea leaves could point to a potential trade between the AFC counterparts.

With a limited timeline to put something together before the regular season, New York could be willing to pay a premium for a player that has proven solid in years past, or a developmental prospect in an attempt to pull a diamond in the rough. Here are three players Kansas City could look to trade to the Jets after Lawson’s injury:

Report: Chiefs to sign DE Tim Ward from practice squad

The Chiefs will call on second-year DE Tim Ward to fill in for Taco Charlton.

The Kansas City Chiefs will be getting some in-house defensive line help for the stretch run.

According to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Eric Edholm, the Chiefs have added DE Tim Ward to the 53-man roster. The team will have a vacancy on the roster with DE Taco Charlton suffering an ankle fracture and a forthcoming move to injured reserve.

Ward, 23, joined Kansas City as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion following the 2019 NFL Draft. He had participated in the Regional Combine Invitational that took place at team facilities that year. He also took a pre-draft visit with the team.

Ward was one of two undrafted free agents that essentially received a redshirt year in 2019. He dealt with a significant knee injury suffered in college and spent the entire year rehabbing and recovering. Here is what Brett Veach said about Ward after the team signed him:

“Then one other guy that you might not see this year, but I think that this Tim Ward from Old Dominion. He was a guy that tore his knee, I don’t know that he’ll be ready this year, but he’s going to be a prototypical Steve Spagnuolo defensive end. He’s long, athletic, started playing football late, and everyone kind of went in there to evaluate the (Oshane) Ximines kid who got drafted at Old Dominion, this was a kid that one of our scouts, Mike Davis, had mentioned, ‘Hey, they’ve got this other defensive end and he’s raw as all get-out, started playing football late.’ The late tape at Old Dominion he really started coming on, we had him in here for one of the workouts here. The NFL conducted another combine here that we had and he had come to that. Spent a lot of time with him. You may not see him this year, but we’re going to take our time with his rehab, we’re not going to rush him, and he could be a guy that could really develop and be a player in the future.”

Listed at 6-6 and 255 pounds, Ward should provide a solid rotational piece for Kansas City. The team clearly added him with Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme in mind. They’re currently lacking a dime-package rusher with Charlton sidelined, so it’ll be interesting to see how effective Ward is in that role. The coaching staff clearly has some faith in his development given the decision to call him up to the 53-man roster.

This move hasn’t yet been made official by the team, but expect this move and a corresponding transaction to come later today when the NFL releases its official transaction report.

[listicle id=80410]