Ward attended Edward W. Bok Technical High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He didn't play football until his sophomore year. He began as a wide receiver and safety, before being converted into a stand up defensive end as a junior. He received second-team All-City and first-team All-City honors. He also practiced basketball.
College career
Ward attended Globe Institute of Technology for two years to improve his grades. In 2013, he played in 7 games, making 26 tackles and 2 sacks. In 2014, he transferred to the University of Illinois. He was named a starter at defensive end in the fourth game of the season. He posted 51 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles and one pass defensed. As a senior, he started all 12 games, playing both at defensive end and defensive tackle. He registered 53 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Against the University of Iowa, he had a career-high 11 tackles, including nine solo. In his last two years, he had 104 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 fumble recoveries, 3 forced fumbles and 3 passes defensed.
Professional career
Coming out of college, most analysts projected Ward to be a second or third round selection. Although analysts had said he has above athletic ability for a man his size, can play both end spots in a 3-4 or 4-3, is large enough to play defensive tackle in 4-3, and could become a quality pass rusher in the NFL, he was also seen as a developmental project who needs improvement in his power, and has inconsistent balance in contact. Ward was invited to the NFL scouting combine and also participated at Illinois' Pro Day and even improved on the majority of his combine numbers. Representatives and scouts from all 32 teams showed up at Illinois' Pro Day, which was run by head coach Lovie Smith. Defensive line coaches from the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Houston Texans came especially to watch Ward perform.
Ward was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, after dropping because he had a knee injury that was expected to require arthroscopic surgery. He didn't participate much in organized team activities during the offseason. Ward finished his rookie season with 30 tackles in 16 games and wasn't very effective. On July 6, 2017, it was revealed that he had surgery on his left foot after injuring it during a workout, putting him out of action until mid-August. The injury limited him during the season, playing in only 5 games and was declared inactive in 10 contests.
On September 3, 2018, the Indianapolis Colts signed Ward to their practice squad. The team promoted him to the active roster on September 13, 2018. He was placed on injured reserve on October 26, 2018 with an ankle injury. On October 1, 2019, Ward was released by the Colts.
Baltimore Ravens
On October 7, 2019, Ward was signed by the Baltimore Ravens. On March 21, 2020, Ward re-signed with the Ravens.
Personal life
Ward is Muslim. He has said that his name, Jihad, which is popular where he was raised in Philadelphia, has been misunderstood due to the negative connotations associated with the term that has been used to describe Islamic violence against non-Muslims.
