The Ravens signed running back Jonathan Ward on Sunday, adding experienced depth to a backfield that's been thinner than usual with Rasheen Ali sidelined by injury.
Baltimore brought in three running backs for tryouts Sunday — Ward, D'Ernest Johnson, and undrafted rookie Jared Chisari — and settled on Ward, who already had some familiarity with the organization. He spent part of last December on the Ravens' practice squad before his contract wasn't renewed at the end of the season.
Ward, 28, is a five-year NFL veteran who has bounced around the league since going undrafted out of Central Michigan in 2020. He broke in with the Cardinals, appearing in 32 games over three seasons, then spent time with the Jets, Titans, and Steelers before a string of practice-squad stops last year with the Giants, Patriots, and finally Baltimore. For his career, Ward has 22 carries for 91 yards and six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown across 46 games — mostly a special-teams and depth role rather than a featured one. He was considerably more productive in college, rushing for 2,539 yards and 28 touchdowns at Central Michigan, with 1,000-yard seasons as both a sophomore and a senior.
The timing points directly at Ali, who missed multiple practices last week along with Baltimore's preseason opener against the Eagles. With Derrick Henry and Justice Hill both held out of that game as well, the workload fell to Adam Randall (12 carries, 46 yards, a touchdown) and rookies Elijah Tau-Tolliver and Dontae McMillan, who combined for 19 carries and 82 yards. Ward now joins that group as another experienced option while Baltimore waits on Ali's timeline.
“He is just working through some stuff," Ravens coach Jesse Minter said on Monday when asked about Ali. "Again, I don’t think it will be anything crazy, but he is working through some stuff, and we will kind of let that timeline shake out as it shakes out.”