The NFL has placed Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward on the Commissioner Exempt List after his arrest in June and a violation of his bail conditions this month.
The Commissioner Exempt List is not the same as being suspended by the league commissioner and is often a landing spot for players with unresolved legal issues. A player on the Commissioner Exempt List continues to be paid, but he’s prohibited from attending practices or games until the legal matter that prompted the action is concluded to the NFL’s satisfaction.
According to the NFL Player Personnel Policy Manual: “Only the commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic. The commissioner also has the authority to determine in advance whether a player’s time on the Exempt List will be finite or will continue until the commissioner deems the exemption should be lifted and the player returned to the active list.”
An alumnus of Davidson High School in Mobile, Ward was arrested at his home in Magnolia, Texas, on June 12 on a charge of assault on a family or household member impeding breathing or circulation – a family-violence offense that is a third-degree felony in Texas.
Ward spent a night in jail this month after he tested positive for alcohol, a violation of his $30,000 bail from that arrest.
Ward also is being sued in a civil lawsuit by the woman who is his accuser in the charges pending against him.
It’s unlikely that Ward would be practicing with the Texans even without his new designation. He has spent training camp and the preseason on the physically-unable-to-perform list while recovering from a foot injury.
A team captain in 2023 and 2024, Ward made 48 tackles, including 32 solo stops, recorded five tackles for loss and intercepted two passes in 10 starts in 2024 before his season was ended by the foot injury in a 27-19 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 21. Ward returned one of the interceptions 65 yards for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 24 for the third pick-six of his career.
Ward entered the NFL from Northern Illinois as a first-round selection of the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. Ward spent his first nine seasons with the 49ers. As a cornerback, nickel back and safety, Ward played in one Super Bowl and three NFC Championship games with San Francisco.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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