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The Jets extended 29 year old Thomas Jones' contract and made him their starter after trading for him.It depends on where a team is and what its needs are. He's not going to break the bank but I can see him getting a nice contract and a significant role for a team that needs to fill its RB slot.Teams that come to mind:ClevelandDenverHouston (to complement Slaton)Tampa BayNew EnglandSeattleeefflrat said:
What's Ward's injury history?ninerfanatic492000 said:
Exactly. He's not going to be taken by a team that wants to grab their RB for the next decade. So what? Several teams need some RB help that won't mind having a guy who they can use for 2-3 seasons. Why? Because they won't have to pay Ward what they would a younger back. The market takes his age and history into consideration when his signing price is negotiated. Once he's signed, all the coach cares about is if he can be a primary or a cog in the RBBC for 2009.Arizona needs to be added to the list. I like Ward over anyone else on their roster. Ward gives any team in need of a RB the opportunity to draft a rookie RB later in the draft without pinning all their hopes or money on that rookie.
I think Ward is the answer.Benson had some decent games but he also hadsome real bad games. I think Ward has much better visionand hits holes harder than Benson.WARD
I agree!! Remember Thomas Jones this year?? Not much wear and tear but older and he did really well as a full time starter!! Can Ward play for 10 yrs like he is a rookie of course not!!! but I'd say he'd be a really productive RB as a starter for at least two or three years?? Gives a team like Cleveland a time to find a future RB?? Kinda a stop gap?I think he has tremendous value on the FA market.There are a number of team who could plug him in as their #1right away.... Houston, Cleveland, New England, just to name a few.Dude went off this year for close to 1500 yards in a part time role.Solid "buy"
Because that player might not ever be good at the NFL level?
But I'd say most NFL GM's think they have an eye for talent, and therefore have faith in there judgement on a rookie. So I can see a stingy GM not wanting to shell out the cash it takes to get Ward...
Meh. Who knows if Ward will be able to produce at the level he has without Jacobs? Maybe he is a system back and benefited from the very good line he ran behind in NY. There is no certainty with either option...that's why I'm wondering which rookie RBs might hold a similar skillset.
I guess a team that feels like it is positioned to win right now would probably rather have a veteran like Ward than a rookie.
There's no reason he can't be a 1A on a team.He ran for 1,000 yards last year -- I'm impressed. He was awesome in '07 when Jacobs was out. I might not want to give him 300 carries, but I'd give him 250 and be very happy. I don't think he's going to cost that much $$, either.
injuries started in college- knee injury and academic concerns. In 2 seasons with Fresno State he had 197 carries. Then he was ineligible because academics in 2001 and 2002.Then in Ottawa (Kan), which is a NAIA school (below D-II for those keeping score at home) he had his only season as a feature back he had 263 carries against sub par competition.In 2004, his 1st season in the league as a Jets 7th round pick he had a high ankle sprain that held back his developmentFrom 2005-2006 he had a concussion, his knee scoped, broke a bone in his foot came back and must have re-injured as he was put on IR. This is while registering 35 total carries in 2 years. So it wasn't like he was carying the ball against opposing D'sIn 2007, his 1st with major playing time in the NFL he broke his leg in addition to suffering groin/ankle injuries early on in the season.Does that throw up any red flags?
Unfortunately, that will presume that Eric Mangini will be anything other than Eric Mangini. This is a guy who kept Leon Washington shackled.
Maybe he'll end up in Detroit to compete with Hightower or perhaps even Detroit to fight it out with Benson.
he could also end up in Detroit as a replacement for BuckhalterMaybe he'll end up in Detroit to compete with Hightower or perhaps even Detroit to fight it out with Benson.
Well, yes and no. You could conclude that he is injury prone and will continue to be so, but you could argue that most of these were fluke injuries and none of them of the type that would shorten his carrer (with the concussion and knee scopes being exceptions, depending on the severity of those injuries).
i know that argument, but the long list of them has to concern anyone. I'd be willing to throw out a few flukes, but there is a definite history there...
Sometimes NFL teams use IR as a way to hang onto young players early in their careers, whether there's a real injury there or not. Don't know if that was the case with Ward at all, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.
so that throws out the re-injury of the ankle, but then why didn't he play the next season after cracking the line-up in 2005?
I was simply suggesting it might explain one or more of the things you listed, since there seemed to be some question on at least one as to what, if anything, happened.
Another Giants fan that agrees with this statement. Without Brandon Jacobs to soften defenses, I think Ward is very pedestrian.Next year, when Ward leaves, Bradshaw or Ware is going to step into his role and look very similar.qimqam said:
There's a few reasons that I can think of:- that similar player may not be available to them if another team scoops him up first.- there's an opportunity cost involved (by picking up that similar back, the team misses out on another valued player in the draft). Sign Ward and you can have both.- Ward is more "proven" and has gained valuable experience- maturityYour point is well taken though and some teams take that exact philosophy.
you are taking out the financial advantage of paying a 4th round pick 1mil v giving a 29 year old RB with a questionable injury history a 3 year contract with a large chunk upfront.
OK, I'm perplexed.Since when is 225-235 #'s too frail to carry the ball 300+ times? Especially when you're looking at a 2-3 year window before his age catches up to him, regardless of miles. Why not run him into the ground? If he has performance incentives, he's going to welcome the opportunity to earn the biggest payday he can over the limited numbers of seasons he has remaining.
Well you have alot of speculation in there. For one thing you're assuming the "similiarly talented" RB in the quoted posters' hypothetical is a 4th rounder.I was just answering the question of the person I quoted and wasn't making any definitive statement about which was the best way to go. He asked for reasons a teams would sign Ward rather than draft a RB instead. Let's face it some team IS going to sign Ward. I'm not really concerned with the injury history you listed as a broken leg can happen to any RB and the rest were minor. Wetbrook, Jackson, Jacobs, Peterson are all top backs who have suffered through injuries.I said earlier I don't think a team is going to break the bank for Ward so I agree that if they are forced to then alot of teams will/should pass.It comes down to him finding the right fit. A team that can compete now and needs a RB and feels his talent matches their scheme and window of opportunity.loose circuits said:
Great post.
so you don't have a question that he's never held up as a feature back outside of 1 year of NAIA ball (might as well have been HS). I don't see talent has the only question. When I see a long list of injuries from a guy dating back to his 1st year of college ball, it concerns me regardless of what he weighs
Your mention of Rudi prodded me to think that the Bengals might be a nice landing spot for Ward as Benson doesn't seem to be interested in the job there.
