Long-time Eagle Greg Ward finally finds a new home

Long-time Eagle Greg Ward finally finds a new home originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Greg Ward, who spent the last six years with the Eagles and was their leading receiver in 2020, has finally found a new home.

Ward finished last year on the Eagles’ practice squad, which made him a free agent when the season ended. He was out of work all offseason until Wednesday, when he signed with the Colts.

Ward has a number of connections in Indianapolis.

Head coach Shane Steichen was Ward’s offensive coordinator with the Eagles in 2021 and 2022; offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter was an Eagles offensive consultant in 2022; and passing game coordinator Alex Tanney had various roles on Nick Sirianni’s staff from 2021 through 2023. Colts receivers coach is Reggie Wayne, who had eight 1,000-yard seasons with the Colts.

Ward has never been with an NFL team other than the Eagles.

He signed as an undrafted free agent before the 2017 season and converted from college quarterback to wide receiver while spending time on the practice squad as a rookie.

After a brief stint in the Alliance of American Football, Ward rejoined the Eagles in 2019. With injuries plaguing the Eagles’ wide receiver corps, he played in the last seven games of the season with three starts and caught 28 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown. His 28 catches the last seven weeks of the season are the 5th-most in franchise history by a player in his first seven games.

Ward caught a team-high 53 passes for 419 yards and six TDs in 2020, his one full season. The six TD catches were 2nd-most in the NFL by an undrafted player in 2020, behind only Adam Thielen‘s 14.

Ward caught seven passess for 95 yards and three TDs in 2021 and then was on and off the roster and practice squad in 2022 and 2023. He hasn’t played in a game since the 2021 wild-card loss to the Bucs. His last reception was a two-yarder from Gardner Minshew at the end of the 51-26 loss to the Cowboys on the final day of the 2021 regular season.

Ward’s 88 catches are 7th-most in Eagles history by an undrafted player. His 53 catches in 2020 are 3rd-most in a single season by an undrafted player. And his six TDs were most by an undrafted Eagle since James Thrash had eight in 2001.

His 67.7 career catch percentage – 88 catches on 130 targets – is 2nd-highest by an Eagles receiver since targets have been tracked starting in 1992. DeVonta Smith is No. 1 at 68.2 percent.

Ward is the only player in NFL history to be on the practice squad of two Super Bowl teams at least five years apart. He won a ring as a rookie in 2017.

At Super Bowl media day in St. Paul, Minn., after the 2022 season, Ward said he wasn’t frustrated that he hasn’t been a regular player since 2020 and said he had a positive outlook on his future.

“To be honest, I’m completely blessed,” Ward said. “I can’t complain about anything. I’m not worried about whether I’m playing or not right now. I know God has a plan for me, and I know what’s going to happen for me in the future.

“The way I work won’t change, the way I prepare won’t change, the way I keep getting better won’t change, and I just have to stay focused on that.

“There’s not many people that ever go to one Super Bowl in their whole career so to go to two? I can’t complain at all.”

Ward joins former Eagles teammates Genard Avery, Joe Flacco, Trey Sermon and Josh Sills on the Colts’ training camp roster.

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