Former NFL running back and Super Bowl winner Derrick Ward arrested on burglary charges. What do we know?
The Super Bowl-winning running back has clearly fallen far from grace with reports confirming that he is now facing multiple burglary charges.
It’s always a bit of a shock to see high-profile professional athletes engaging in criminal activity, especially when one considers how much they can earn. That said, money is by no means the only thing that matters in life.
Derrick Ward arrested for burglary
According to reports, former NFL running back Derrick Ward has been arrested on felony charges. It is alleged that Ward committed multiple robberies across the Los Angeles area. Where details are concerned, Ward is accused of robbing several businesses, including gas stations, while using “force and fear” to intimidate. As per reports, Ward was detained on Monday and booked at approximately 6:30 p.m., with bail set at $250,000. It’s worth noting that this is not the first time that Ward has been involved in questionable activity. In 2017, the former New York Giants star was accused of scamming several friends out of their money.
Who is Derrick Ward?
Selected by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft, Ward didn’t immediately turn heads, but after moving to the New York Giants, it became apparent that he was very good at his job. Indeed, he was a member of the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII-winning team in 2007, and it didn’t stop there either. In 2008, as part of the “Earth, Wind, and Fire” Giants running back trio alongside Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, he decimated the league. Yet, perhaps the finest moment of his career came during the 2008 campaign during a game against the Carolina Panthers. On the day, Ward ran for 215 yards, as he helped the Giants to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a 34-28 victory.
It’s worth noting that when the season ended, Ward’s tally stood at 1,025 rushing yards, meaning both he and Jacobs became just the fifth pair of teammates in league history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season. The running back would go on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans before finally calling it quits in 2012. When the curtain came down on his career, the now 43-year-old had amassed a total of 2,628 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, while also adding 96 receptions for 787 yards and three touchdowns in the passing game. Regarding salary, which is important to consider for context, Ward signed a four-year, $17 million contract with the Bucs in 2009 as a free agent. Times do change.